SHELBURN, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Elementary school students in Shelburn took a short field trip Monday to get hands-on STEM experience.
In 2019, Northeast School Corporation combined their middle and high school students, changing their middle school building to the administration office.
Rather than leave the classrooms sit empty, they created the Wonder Lab.
Wonder Lab Coordinator, Gretchen Brown, said the lab introduces students to STEM concepts at a young age.
“We knew there was still a lot of open space”, Brown said. “Patty Walters, who is a former teacher at Northeast School Corporation, and a few other teachers came up with an idea of flipping these three rooms into STEM labs for our students to come and do. Now, it’s six labs and a cafeteria.
Local elementary students visit the Wonder Lab multiple times per school year, learning a different concept each time.
“We may be doing robotics one time when they come”, Brown said. “Today we are doing engineering and electricity. We try to base it on the science, technology, engineering, and math component of it. We may be doing exercises; we’ve got an exercise room. Each time they come; it’s something different.”
Monday afternoon, third grade students from Northeast East Elementary focused on engineering.
One student, Bryson Foxworthy, said they created electrical currents with random objects.
“We were using food and other stuff to create open and closed circuits”, Foxworthy said.
Brown said the best part of the lab is students have fun with the activities, without focusing on the educational aspects.
“The best part about it is, they don’t even realize they’re learning or that they’re applying those skills because we’re doing something totally different”, Brown said. “For them it’s a field trip.”
The Wonder Lab also hosts evening sessions, for both parents and their kids, as well as a summer camp.
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