Riverside Elementary and Columbia Central win $5,000 TVA STEM Grants

Two Maury County schools have been awarded $5,000 grants to enhance their science, technology, engineering and math programs.

Tennessee Valley Authority awarded the grants to Riverside Elementary School and Columbia Central High School in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Inc., a TVA retiree organization, according to a Thursday, Dec. 11 media release.

The program, operated in partnership with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, managed by the Battelle organization, aims to fund projects that incorporate STEM, with preference given to proposals that align with TVA’s priority areas such as environment, energy, economic and career development and community problem-solving.

The program received 528 applications, and 339 were selected for funding, the media release states. Since 2018, TVA/BVI has provided over $9 million in STEM grants supporting over 845,000 students.

“Inspiring young people to pursue careers in STEM fields is so important,” TVA President and CEO Don Moul said in the release.

“A workforce with specialized skills means more economic opportunities for people across our seven-state region and more opportunities for our students to achieve high-paying jobs that will support their families and make their communities a better place to live when they grow up.”

Expanding educational resources and opportunities

Riverside Elementary plans to use its funding to acquire the hand2mind STEM 3D Coding and Robotics Cart, a mobile solution designed to bring hands-on STEM learning into the classroom.

The cart will serve as a learning hub for students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, offering access to coding tools, robotics kits and a 3D printing system.

Growing virtual reality knowledge

Columbia Central High School plans to expand students' knowledge of virtual reality by highlighting career and technical education classes to middle school students who may not be aware of the possibilities in the field.

“This grant empowers programs we offer by continuing to foster thinking, innovation, and real-world problem-solving,” John Orman, media teacher at Columbia Central, said in the announcement. “Emerging technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality can be challenging to articulate to potential sponsors.

"We appreciate TVA’s commitment to supporting STEM initiatives that cultivate 21st-century skills.”