STEM Like Me! Grants Awarded to Three RSD Science Teachers

Three RSD high school science teachers received STEM Like Me! Innovative Grant funds for the 2021-22 school year.
 
The STEM Like Me! Innovation Grant Program invites pioneering educators to enact their best ideas for providing students with rich and robust learning experiences. Thank you to Mid-Columbia STEM Network and Dream Builder’s Education Foundation for making these grants possible.

• River’s Edge High School science teacher Trever Macduff received $1,000 for an indoor hydroponics Tower Garden. River’s Edge current greenhouse is in need of repair. The Tower Garden will provide a good alternative for students to learn everything from plant life cycles to photosynthesis and soil variation. The Tower Garden will be used as part of the school’s project-based learning classes, impacting 60 students in the current school year.
• Brian Palmer, Hanford High School’s astronomy teacher, was awarded $918 for supplies for a rocketry in the classroom unit. Mr. Palmer will receive 12 rocket and launcher systems with Pocket Lab Voyage data collectors to study flight information. The rockets will carry an egg as a payload, allowing students to work with fragile cargo simulating the launch and recovery of real-world payloads.
• Hanford High School science teacher David Wilson received $923 for plane kits, power packs and more for the Falcon Flyers RC Aircraft club. This student club works to close the STEM gap for students who may not be able to afford the expense of an RC airplane hobby. It teaches students about aerospace, electrical and mechanical engineering as well as mathematics, physics, and scientific exploration. The plane kits come with pre-cut parts, eliminating the need to use razor blades to cut parts out of foam core.