Georgia district will convert former elementary to a STEAM center
The Muscogee County (Ga.) School District is converting a former elementary school into a center focusing on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) for students at all grade levels.
The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports that renovations are transforming the former Muscogee Elementary School campus in Columbus into a STEAM Center.
The campus closed in 2014 when the district opened Dorothy Height Elementary.
Victoria Thomas, the district's director of career, technical and agricultural education, presented the school board with details of how the district will use all four buildings on the Muscogee Elementary campus for the STEAM center.
Situating the STEAM Center near the new Spencer High School, which has a computer science and electronic game design magnet, and the planned Benning Technology Park will create beneficial "synergies," Lewis says.
When the center is fully operational, the it will accommodate students through field trips, after-school programs and summer programs. It also would provide professional development for teachers.
In addition to science labs, the center is expected to include a hydroponic greenhouse, an open-air garden and drone-assisted farming.
At least one of the three computer labs will be an Apple Mac lab to expose students to the programming language Swift, which is exclusive to the Mac operating system. And at least one of the three labs will include 3-D/virtual reality simulators.
