Tioga ISD’s Mobile STEM Lab is helping students reimagine their future.
Garra Ballinger, Tioga academic adviser and English teacher, was the primary writer of the grant, but she credits FCCLA members Lacie Gray and Emily Ballinger for their contributions.
“My first thought was for FCCLA to be involved with it,” Garra said. “And so, I used that as the framework. I was, like, ‘Look, we have these high school kids.’ Part of our program is all about careers, and so I put that all inside the grant application, and I think that they really liked that.”
Out of 1,024 applications, Tioga ISD was one of 270 school districts chosen.
The news came as a surprise for many.
“I didn’t really think a small school like us would get picked, but we did,” Garra said.
Throughout the week leading up to the event, each class from elementary up spent 50 minutes a day in the Mobile STEM Lab, learning new STEM experiments.
“They’d load the bus back up, take those kids back over and then they immediately load the next bunch and bring them back,” Tioga FCCLA adviser Christi Crowe said. “It’s just a revolving door all week long … with the exception of lunch.”
In preparation for the big night, FCCLA members Emily and Gray assisted in the lab all week, helping with projects like the bottle rockets that use vinegar and baking soda in a water bottle.
For Gray, the effort was worth it.
“I did not expect so many kids to come out here and with their parents,” she said. “And I’m really glad that they did because we were able to spread awareness of what STEM actually is to smaller town kids. Because that’s kind of what our thing is—kids who don’t think that they have as big opportunities as big city students— and we’re really trying to push that for our FCCLA project this year. That smaller town students can have just as many opportunities as well and a broader spectrum.”
On Sept. 17, families gathered outside Tioga High School for an evening of learning and fun at the Mobile STEM Lab.
Before they entered the STEM Lab, there was an array of booths with various activities, including cup stacking, book towers and marble runs.
Inside the mobile lab, participants created their own catapult craft out of items such as wooden sticks, rubber bands and a plastic spoon.
Families got the chance to participate in similar STEM-related activities as their children had been for the past week.
The initiative was supported by the Texas Education Agency and the nonprofit organization, Learning Undefeated, which created the Texas Mobile STEM lab.
Their mission is to provide interactive STEM lessons for students in kindergarten through eighth grade nationwide.
It was not only the students who are getting inspiration from the lab.
Parents have also chimed in and expressed their excitement about the possibilities this momentum will create for students and especially girls.
“It’s amazing because I think it’s the majority of men’s field,” one of the parents, Katherine Jones, said. “And so, whenever you see girls that are interested, it makes it even more exciting. I have two daughters, and one of them is very interested in science and engineering, and so she was super stoked about coming!”
For Garra, hearing the kids get inspired for their future meant the most.
“We want them to realize there’s lots of other careers, and it might have to do with science and math, especially if you’re good at it,” she said.
