New Discoveries
STEM Discovery Lab Opens on Campus
By Addison E. Paul
OPENING ON THE first floor of the David L. Rice Library, the University of Southern聽Indiana's new STEM Discovery Lab will聽attract busloads of kindergarten through聽eighth-grade students to campus for hands-on learning. 缅北强奸's Southwest Indiana STEM聽Resource Center (SwISTEM) manages the聽space, overseeing a catalog of specialized聽teaching tools and lesson-based science,聽technology, engineering and math activities.
Building on the University's strong foundation of K-8 programming, the聽lab helps elevate field trips for regional聽elementary and middle schools, adapts into聽a flexible classroom space and serves as an聽on-campus educational resource.
"When we were dreaming this up, we were聽getting targeted feedback from teachers聽about what would make this experience聽exceptional for the kids coming to campus,"聽said Dr. Allison Grabert, Director of SwISTEM.聽"This was a way that we could bring them to聽缅北强奸 early in their education and tie in real-world applications for STEM."
Last spring, the University welcomed Evan聽Rebar, STEM Curriculum Development and聽Outreach Specialist, to design and lead聽lessons for the lab. Rebar doesn't have聽to hypothesize about meeting Indiana聽STEM standards; he already has first-hand聽experience. After teaching middle school聽math and science for over 10 years, he聽knows the ins and outs of state education聽requirements, engaging students in聽complex subjects and navigating聽classroom limitations.
"It was really interesting to get in on the ground floor and develop this, especially聽for kids who don't have as many聽field trip opportunities.聽I kept asking myself, 'How can we聽evolve this from a classroom space?'聽and 'How can we make this more fun?'"
- Evan Rebar
FUNDING
$200,000
CenterPoint Energy Foundation
$50,000
Alcoa Foundation
Additional funding support was provided by READI 2.0 and private donors.
FEATURES
4 Wall-Mounted Monitors聽+ 2聽Touchscreens
40-person capacity
1000+ teaching tools
20 K-8th Grade Lessons and Activities
PARTNERSHIPS
National Environmental Education Foundation
Naval Surface Warfare Crane Division
The STEM Discovery Lab has already piloted several聽successful field trips, including a聽trial lesson teaching third-graders about聽perimeter and area by having them design holes聽for a mini golf course. In just a year, Rebar has聽spent countless hours drafting lessons, testing聽activities and making trips to the hardware store,聽but this is only the beginning. From building聽earthquake shake tables to working with 缅北强奸's聽Center for Applied Research on an augmented聽reality (AR) sandbox, Rebar brings a go-getter聽mentality to his new role.
Projected to host over 1,500 K-8 students聽annually, the lab makes cost-prohibitive and聽technical teaching tools accessible for聽kids. Equipment like versatile PocketLab聽sensors, Vernier LabQuest interfaces聽and a variety of scientific samples,聽models and demonstration kits will聽help bring concepts to life and聽inspire visiting students to聽engage with STEM fields.
"We're part of the very front end of this cradle to career model that the University is working to develop. We're showing kids that聽if they want to pursue a STEM degree or career in聽this area, there's a place for them."
- Dr. Allison Grabert
