The Howard Hughes Medical Institute on Wednesday invited nearly 200 institutions to compete for $85 million in grants aimed at stimulating more innovative approaches to teaching science. To supplement the Maryland medical institute's standard science education program, it is offering supplemental grants this year designed to encourage more experimentation with curricular and teaching methods. “We want to test new ways of teaching science that no one has tried before,” Peter J. Bruns, HHMI’s vice president for grants and special programs, said in a news release. “We want to foster creativity and risk-taking.”