STEM Bus Inspires Creativity, Curiosity and Innovation in Rural Oklahoma District

students presenting to the class infront of a Clevertouch IMPACT interactive display
three coloured blocks (boxlight) logo

 

“We don't want students just to be multiple choice, fill in the blank, test-taking robots. We want them to produce and create.”

— Mark Moring, Superintendent, Durant School District

 

See how the STEM Bus inspires the students!
Installation Snapshot:
  • 7 schools, PK-12
  • 3,854 students; 228 teachers
  • 17:1 Student:Teacher ratio

It started out as a simple idea. Staff at Durant Independent School District (DISD) in Oklahoma wanted to transform an old school bus into a mobile STEM lab. But that vision quickly grew into a groundbreaking initiative: a custom-built STEM bus that has sparked a passion for hands-on learning and revolutionized STEM education throughout the district.

 

The Challenge

 
A newspaper article caught the eye of Beth Bean, DISD’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction: A school in Alabama had partnered with PowerUpEdu on a STEM bus initiative to enrich learning and engage all students in high-quality, authentic STEM education. She’d seen similar projects in other districts and was eager to bring something like that to Durant.
Bean approached Duane Meredith, who was Superintendent at the time, with the idea of retrofitting an old school bus with STEM technology and learning tools to create an indoor/outdoor STEM lab for the students, but Meredith had another idea. “No, you can’t have an old bus,” he said, “But let’s do this right and build a bus from scratch.”
Designing a custom-built bus meant that the district would have to navigate a complex process:
  • Securing additional resources to fund and support the project
  • Planning, designing, and building the lab from the ground up
  • Ensuring that it would meet the needs of students in all grades
With all of the resources in place, the collaborative effort was then underway. “We actually got to design a custom STEM bus, which we were able to outfit it to our needs,” said Bean.

 

 

Key Solutions

 
The plan was to outfit a brand-new bus with state-of-the-art STEM tools that would engage students at every level—from pre-K to high school—with activities tailored to all the different developmental stages and learning goals. This included:
  • An interactive floor
  • 3D printers
  • Virtual reality technology
  • Datalogging capabilities
  • STEM furnishings
  • Robotics equipment
  • Coding stations
  • Labdiscs
  • MyStemKits.com STEM curriculum
It was an ambitious undertaking that required expertise and technology from outside sources, so the district partnered with Power Up Edu and Boxlight. The collaboration that took place between the district, the staff and the two companies was a resounding success, resulting in much more than just a mobile classroom—the district now has a fully immersive STEM learning environment.
 

Looking Ahead

The STEM bus has completely transformed STEM education in Durant, Oklahoma, because it empowers students to learn hands-on in a completely different way, says STEM teacher Kasey Bennett. “They’re coding in pre-K, and by third and fourth grade, they’re designing and printing 3D models. Students can’t wait to come to class and work on their projects,” she said.
Families and caregivers have seen the difference, too. Tonya Burgess, a parent and Assistant to the Director of Education, loves how the STEM bus has inspired her child. “It’s opened his mind to endless possibilities. Every time they bring something new, he loves exploring it.”
And what better feedback than from the students themselves? It’s impossible to miss their excitement when they talk about how much they enjoy following their curiosity, driving their own learning, working on 3D designs, and discovering new worlds. “Maybe we’ll be scientists one day,” said Christian, a student at Northwest Heights Elementary School.
DISD’s commitment to doing things the right way has taken STEM learning to the next level, and Superintendent Moring knows exactly why it’s been so effective. “This is something that excites them — and if you get kids excited about learning, they’re going to learn.”
The visionary leadership of DISD, the strategic partnerships they’ve created, and the community’s shared commitment to student-centered innovation have all paved the way to limitless possibilities for aspiring scientists, mathematicians, engineers and innovators throughout the district… but it’s not limited to STEM subjects.
The initiative is also helping students develop design thinking, which can deepen their learning in other subject areas, bridging gaps between theoretical concepts and real-world applications and changing how students connect with all of the content they’re learning. 

See how the STEM Bus inspires the Durant Independent School students!

Back to top