Tanner Middle School students with a bent toward the sciences and math now have a club of their own, thanks to science teacher Christy Leopard and Media Specialist Cynthia Bates.

The duo started the school’s first Science Technology Engineering and Math Club at the beginning of the school year with 26 members. Since then, the team has met every week to plan and build projects that will prepare them for future advanced coursework and one day, a career.

Working through the engineering process, students have completed a catapult challenge, learned about the domino effect using FlipGrid, built a Fan Car, experimented with computer coding and at Christmastime, made tie-dye ornaments.

Assistant Principal Deborah Kenyon said she was glad to see Tanner had a STEM Club when she came on board in the middle of the school year.

“We’re almost in the Eastern Silicon Valley here,” she said. “The club gives them hands-on experience they will need for the jobs of today and the jobs of the future.”

Leopard, who was named Tanner’s Teacher of the Year, said several of the students in the STEM Club hope to be engineers one day.

“The things they learn in STEM Club encourage them to go into fields like math and engineering,” she said. “They go through the engineering process when they do the challenges. They have to plan, build, change, test and build again.”

“Learning this process will help in all areas of life, not just the sciences,” she added.

YEA STEaM

Leopard’s students got a chance to prove their new engineering skills at the recent Youth Education Awareness STEaM conference at Athens State University. While STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEaM includes an arts component.

The April 3 conference gave students from across the Valley the chance to show off their skills and compete against each other in timed events.

During one event, students had to demonstrate they could build a structure that could withstand hurricane force winds using only popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, string, drinking straws and a tennis ball.

Tanner students Samantha Huff, Kiana Williams, Andreanna Mowed, Candace Crumbley and Allison LaGrone nabbed second place in the event, taking home the school’s first trophy for a STEM challenge.

Leopard sees interest in STEM growing at Tanner.

“The more word gets out, the more I have students telling me they are interested in being part of the STEM Club next year,” she said. “I’m hoping other teachers will be inspired to start clubs in their schools as well.”

“I can see this becoming a great opportunity for all of the students in Limestone County,” Leopard added.

Future trips

Determined to expand her students’ horizons even further, Leopard has started a field trip fund, asking local businesses to help offset the cost of three field trips — visits to the Adventure Science Center in Nashville, Tennessee, The McWane Science Center in Birmingham and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.

Donations from area companies have already started pouring in, and Leopard is confident they’ll have enough money to make all three trips a reality for the STEM Club members.