Albuquerque Public Schools
STEM Takes Root at Mary Ann Binford Elementary
Grant from Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation provides a lab and excitement at SW Albuquerque school
Mary Ann Binford Elementary School Principal Stephanie Nieto looked on proudly Friday morning as kids at her school got hip deep into science.
“They love inventing things,” she said, as nearby students informed themselves about the inner working of an Ozobot, a kind of desk-friendly coding robot.
Ozobots? In the hands of an elementary school kid, they’re oh, so fun. And educational.
And that was the entire point as Binford’s students celebrated the opening of a STEM lab made possible by the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and Exxon.
The grant, worth nearly $50,000, provided desks, chairs, equipment, a 3D printer and scads of other engaging activities and will be used throughout the school year by all of Binford’s 460 students.
The excitement was obvious: Students got hands-on time with devices that at first look like toys, but upon further examination had many beginning to ask one another just how everything worked. It’s the first step in giving children a look at science, engineering, technology and math – key fields that are filled with potential careers.
Binford teacher Barbie Pierson flitted around the classroom, thrilled by the new hardware. Like many teachers, she’s made do with available materials, but the infusion provided by the grant will allow her to open the lab on Saturdays, so parents can work with their students on STEM projects.
The names of the devices – Bee-Bot, littleBits, Makey Makey, Snap Circuits, and Squishy Circuits – sound like the kind of fun that could last a lifetime, and maybe, spark a new invention.