SUMTER, S.C. — Science, technology, engineering and math on wheels is rolling into Sumter County. The Sumter School District unveiled its new STEM Explorer today. Students of all ages across all schools will have access to the vehicle.
“Oh heck yeah,” rising 7th grader Eric Jackson shared his reaction when I asked if he’d like to learn inside the explorer.
“It looks nice, looks luxury, looks like something I’d love to stay in,” Jackson smiled.
The vehicle will visit all schools in the district starting this school year, so students like Jackson can learn about STEM.
Inside there is a host of different Chromebooks for the students to use, as well as different LEGOs, robotics and even drones.
“It's very important that we get our children ready in the education system to step into that job,” Mobile STEM Innovation Specialist Leroy Steigerwalt says about his role teaching kids about the field.
The vehicle isn’t just for students in the classroom though.
“We're also doing community outreach with this and we’ll also be at all the home football games and special events that Sumter has and some surrounding areas. So what we want to do is increase the impact of STEM in our community,” Steigerwalt shares. “Get that as a conversation piece, increase the vocabulary awareness in our school system and just show everybody how fun learning can be. And also show kids that being an educator isn't just being in a classroom; that it can be a lot more than that.”
Twenty-four students can learn inside the vehicle and 20 can learn outside of it. There are five different learning stations, which all 15,000 students in the district will have access to. Classroom teachers can also utilize extension lessons once a month.
“Obviously we're hearing talk all across the nation about STEM and the needs of STEM,” Sumter School District Superintendent William Wright explains.
Wright says this vehicle will help connect students with STEM curriculum through a partnership with Pilgrim’s Pride and BD, which donated nearly $300,000 toward the explorer.
“This is an example today of what can happen with public school education when we work together, when community gets involved,” Wright says. “It’s just an opportunity for us to continue learning for close to 15,000 children. Sumter School District, I believe, is getting better every day, so we're just excited to continue to prove that to our citizens and to the students that we serve every day.”
The school district says this vehicle will start going to schools at the beginning of the school year and will visit all schools in the district.
