LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Over the last year, Fayette County Public Schools has been bringing a mobile classroom to students. The district's STEM Bus exposes kids to math and science in an interactive way.
"We wanted to make sure that we had a way that all kids could get exposed to this kind of instruction, so that we can hopefully spark some future scientists and engineers,” said Amy Johns, the Associate Director of Technology at Fayette County Public Schools.
Inside the colorful STEM Bus, the seats were taken out to make room for tables and tables, leaving just enough space for kids to do activities related to science, technology, engineering, and math.
"We really appreciate the value of STEM and trying to encourage our kids to learn about STEM careers,” said Johns.
This school year the bus is visiting third-graders at all 37 elementary schools in the district.
While the program only launched a year ago, it's already made a name for itself in the country. It was a finalist for the National STEM Excellence Awards at the 2020 Future of Education Technology Conference in Florida last month.
“We were up against hundreds of other schools from around the nation and actually some international schools as well and we were honored to be one of the top three,” said Johns. “Being recognized as one of the top three programs in the country really validates for us the work that we're doing and the importance of bringing STEM to our students."
The district hopes to expand the program and encourage teachers to develop their own STEM curriculum.
