Grants give students tools to learn science, technology, engineering and math concepts
Small hands are building trains and tracks with Lego bricks in Lesley Olds’ classroom at Ripley Primary School. As they build, the kindergarten through second grade students are learning the beginning concepts of computer coding, said Olds, the school’s media specialist.
“Various Lego bricks have meanings,” Olds said. “For example, the red piece on the track tells the train to stop there. The red piece is coded to make the train respond a certain way. Later we will add pieces that make lights, horns and other movements.”
Olds bought the Lego bricks and accompanying classroom materials with a $2,000 STEM grant from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which supplies electricity to Ripley Power and Light Company. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.
Olds’ students work in pairs. As they build, they learn other concepts, such as problem solving and working with a partner, Olds said.
“When I give them a challenge, they think they are playing.”
Blocks away, Ripley Elementary students in third through fifth grade are analyzing weather patterns in Jonathan Holmes’ science classroom. Holmes, the school’s STEM teacher, received a $5,000 grant from TVA.
“I was thrilled to learn we received the grant,” he said. “It’s close to being the highlight of the whole school year.”
Holmes bought solar panels, weather sensors, rechargeable batteries and other weather forecasting equipment with the grant. Students are learning about rain, humidity, temperatures and wind speeds, and they are also strengthening other skills, like math, Holmes said.
“It’s important for students to learn early on about careers in science, math and technology,” said Mike Allmand, President and CEO of Ripley Power and Light. “We are excited that two of our schools received the grants.”
TVA awards the grants for STEM projects in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Inc., a TVA retiree organization.
Since 2018, the program has provided more than $9 million in STEM awards, supporting more than 845 students. This year, TVA funded 339 grants out of 528 applications.