Fourth- through eighth-grade students from Middleton and schools across Hardeman County are building robots, flying drones, and tending a greenhouse at the Hardeman County STEM Center, a hands-on lab that director Deana Sain has grown largely through grants she writes herself. Since the center opened in August 2023, Sain says she has secured $42,000 in grant funding for students.
Sain told The Magnolia Post that her goal is for students to “do more than just read about science and engineering,” and instead build, test, and solve problems, even if it gets messy.
What Students Do at the Hardeman County STEM Center
This school year, visiting classes can expect a wide range of activities, including:
Engineering design challenges and robotics
Coding, drones, and virtual reality
Agriculture, gardening, and environmental science
Circuitry, physical science, and design projects
Visits from local businesses and community leaders to show real STEM careers
Recent projects have included Bolivar Middle School seventh graders designing insulated coolers to keep ice from melting and Hornsby Elementary eighth graders designing 9/11 memorials.
Grants Fund Equipment Beyond the School Budget
Much of the center’s equipment would not be possible on a normal school budget, Sain said. She credits Dr. Christy Smith with starting the center through a Tennessee Department of Education Innovative Schools Model grant. Since then, Sain’s applications have brought in:
A $5,000 Society for Science STEM Grant, which paid for PocketLab Voyager sensors, G-Force bundles, and environmental science equipment that let students collect real data
A TVA/TSIN STEM grant supporting “Hardeman Harvest: Growing STEM from the Ground Up,” a greenhouse and drone project
A TVA STEM Robotics Award and grants for outdoor classroom and garden projects
Sain said she starts each application by asking what students need, then ties the project to Tennessee standards and to the community. “Every no allows you to revise and try again,” she said.
A NASA Moon Tree Behind the Center
One of the center’s most unusual features is a NASA Moon Tree, grown from a seed that traveled around the Moon aboard Artemis I. Students planted it behind the STEM Center and named it “James Moontree.” Sain said the tree represents her hope that students will “look beyond what they think is possible.”
Thirty Years of Teaching Science
Sain’s work with STEM education in the county goes back to 2003, when she taught at Bolivar Elementary, which she noted was the first NASA STEM School in Tennessee. After 30 years in the classroom, she said the biggest accomplishment is a culture of curiosity, when students leave “still talking about what they built.” Looking ahead, she plans to expand engineering challenges and the greenhouse and outdoor learning areas.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
