Local Elementary School Teaches Students About Tulsa Landmarks Through STEM Program

Something Good is happening at Lewis and Clark Elementary, where the school received a $15,000 grant for STEM programs.

On the school's first ever "STEM in the 918 Day,” a hallway became Route 66, and the lights were dimmed in a classroom for kids to make their own version of the Admiral Twin.

Pre-K Teacher's Assistant Audrianna Smith worked with kids as part of the gym served as a Tulsa Air and Space Museum launch pad, ready for takeoff.

"Our kids see the airplanes. A lot of them don't get to fly in the airplanes,” Smith said. “So having the space ship out here gave them that chance to feel like they were inside."

Outside, the theme was Tulsa Parks, and students used engineering skills to build playgrounds.

First grade teacher Sommer Lyons helped write a grant that made it all possible.

Lyons and a handful of her coworkers will go to Colorado this summer for a seminar called “Science in the Rockies,” where they will learn about even more STEM activities they can bring to the classroom in the fall.

"We are calling this the inaugural STEM day because we do plan to find funding to be able to make these projects better and continue them as we move forward,” Lyons said.

Neon signs along Route 66 inspired an activity where students made an electric circuit to turn on a light. And as school wraps up this week, students are going into summer break with bright ideas for the future.

"It's giving kids an idea of the kind of careers that they have in their own community and how accessible that actually is,” Lyons said.