Can I contact facilities I am interested in?

[smartapplicant]

I have read some conflicting things on here, collegeconfidential, and other forums. Is it okay or frowned upon to contact facilities I have interest in? I would like to see what specific research they are looking to do and if they even sponsor smart scholars. I heard some people don't even take smart scholars. What are the more popular facilities? Which ones should I avoid. I want to increase my chances as much as possible.

[fish]

look at this list of facilities
http://smart.asee.org/sponsoring_facilities

You can sort by STEM field to find the places that are looking for your area of study

Most of the facilities have links to their respective web sites so you can get an idea of what they do there.