Buzz about the new STEM lab has not been circling through the student body, but it should be. This $100,000 project was funded by “a school board approved expenditure in last year’s budget,” Principal Brett Bowers  said. The new space has been designed with co-curricular usage in mind. Bowers said, “Interactive learning, certainly movement-based learning. building things and creating things” are just a few of the advantages to this space.

Room 601 is located within the art wing, formerly used as the automotive shop. This room was designated for the STEM lab because, “It’s a nice big space, which we don’t have a lot of in the building. It’s no longer being used for it’s originally identified purpose, so it was an opportunity to repurpose that space,” Bowers said.

The biggest issue facing this space at the moment is the way that they will have to combine curricular and co-curricular activities into the one space. Robotics and Project Lead The Way (PLTW) classes will be taught in the space, beginning second trimester.

“The space is really useful because of the layout, the open configuration, and the tools that are also available in there. It also gives a wide berth for the activity in a STEM type situation. It allows students to spread out and get and get hands-on access to things,” James Patterson, STEM teacher, said.

As for which teachers and departments can use the space, Bowers said, ”At this point I don’t think it’s probably appropriate for [teacher] checkout because we are still trying to sort out some things.” Meeting everyone’s needs is the biggest priority for getting this space ready.

“I do not take a lot of PLTW classes because I am a senior and wasn’t aware of those opportunities. But just like the I-wing, I think all of us students will be really excited to be able to be the first to use it,” Natalie Ceelen, senior, said.

Location is also an issue with this space because it is located in the art wing, a remote location. It is a long walk between the STEM lab and the science department. “It’s a hike. I can always pencil in a good 15 minute walk to walk down there,” Patterson joked.

In the future, both Bowers and Patterson are looking forward to expanding the department. There is even a second room located next to the new STEM lab (that was previously used for woodworking) that can now be used in order to grow the department. “[We are] probably going to transfer more robotics co-curriculars into there because at some point there is just too much stuff in one place. For a classroom to walk into and not have…hundreds of dollars or thousands of dollars of equipment laying out in that room,” Bowers said.

If Patterson had his choice, Homestead would be able to offer more PLTW classes in the future.  “If this gets to the point where we need two spaces, it’s a good thing if we need to take advantage of that space,” Patterson said.

Gallery • 8 Photos

This new space is very large which allows for more hands-on learning.