Oakland Schools: Full STEM Ahead Oakland Schools' STEMi Mobile Lab Engineered To Bring Unparalleled Experiences To Local Students ...

Press release from Oakland Schools:

2021-08-31

What is 1,000 square feet and offers up to 40 students simultaneous access to interactive, high-tech, state-of-the-art industry equipment?

Oakland Schools’ new STEMi Mobile Innovation Station, a mobile lab designed to engage K-12 students, teachers and families in one-of-a-kind Industry 4.0 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) experiences. Learners are able to engage with autonomous vehicles, collaborative robots, extended reality and smart manufacturing. The STEMi will visit all 28 school districts in Oakland County for one week during the school year, allowing local students and educators to interact with the lab.  

“The STEMi is the ultimate classroom for students. It provides them with hands-on learning opportunities, which is crucial for developing young minds,” said Oakland Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Wanda Cook-Robinson. “I am ecstatic the day is finally here that this mobile lab is available for all Oakland County students to utilize.”

It is expected that in five years, the STEMi will offer direct career readiness experiences for nearly 100,000 students. It will also allow for professional learning opportunities for over 5,000 educators. The STEMi was funded with grant funding from The Zakoff Family Legacy Fund, The Bosch Community Fund, Community Telecommunications Network and Dell.

“It cannot be overstated how important it is for students to be provided with career readiness opportunities,” said Jarrad Grandy, executive director of Student Services for Oakland Schools. “By engaging with the STEMi, students are learning about what future they could build. The STEMi is one support of many embedded in the countywide, K-12 Career Readiness system. This countywide system enhances the career awareness and exploration opportunities and instruction for students and educators in the 28 local districts we serve.”  

The STEMi is part of a total STEM experience Oakland School has recently began offering to all districts in Oakland County. In addition to the STEMi, Oakland Schools boasts a STEM equipment lending library. Districts are able to check out STEM equipment, which can then be utilized in district classrooms.

The aim of the checkout system is to provide districts with access to equipment that supports their K-12 STEM goals. The STEM equipment available for checkout includes items that will allow for students to engage in mechatronics, electronics, robotics, rapid prototyping, coding, virtual reality, augmented reality and video game design.   

For more information on the Oakland Schools STEM experience, visit https://www.oakland.k12.mi.us/educators/student-services/career-readiness.

This press release was produced by Oakland Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.