This Research Experience for Teachers Renewal Site, hosted by Montana State University in collaboration with Purdue University, addresses a critical national need: preparing a skilled STEM workforce by starting with our youngest learners. In many rural and American Indian reservation communities, elementary teachers often lack the training and confidence to teach engineering concepts. This gap limits students’ early exposure to engineering and their ability to see themselves in STEM careers. To bridge this gap, this MSU RET Renewal Site offers a unique, hands-on summer research experience for elementary teachers from Montana’s rural and American Indian reservation communities. Over three years, at least two dozen teachers will participate in a six-week program where they will work alongside university researchers on real-world energy challenges - such as renewable energy systems, sustainable materials, and fluid dynamics. This RET Renewal Site will coordinate many of its activities with the Montana Nanotechnology Facility (MONT), one of sixteen National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) sites. All RET participants will engage with NNCI materials fabrication and characterization resources and experts during orientation, research tours, and instrumentation demonstrations. RET research mentors and their students will have unique and direct NNCI interactions, routinely collaborating with NNCI in their research, leveraging these experiences toward teaching in STEM.