Nyack Schools are set to receive a $50,000 gift to be used toward science classes and lessons.

The money is being gifted by The Foundation to Inspire Excellence in Nyack Schools, a local non-profit organization that aims to promote positive change and progress in the district. In the past, funds raised by the Foundation have been used to institute a robotics curriculum in the elementary and middle schools, and to jump-start research programs.

The check will be presented at the Feb. 28 school board meeting at the Valley Cottage School, and will bring the Foundation's donations to a total of more than $200,000 over the past five years.

It's tied to this year's "Inspire Nyack Day," a Feb. 10 program in the elementary and middle schools that celebrates Thomas Alva Edison's birthday and, "explores the positives and negatives of static electricity, the sub-zero temperatures of liquid nitrogen, the states of matter and the immense pressure of air," school officials said.

The non-profit's primary fundraising event is Casino Night, slated for March 10 at Nyack Seaport.