Lovejoy HS makes science, technology a priority with new STEM wing

One North Texas school district believes a new addition to its high school will have a big impact on students and their future. Lovejoy high school opened a $9 million dollar STEM wing, approved by taxpayers two years ago. 

"We use this to pick up stars on the field and it kind of holds it out we call this the fork and it can dump them over like that," Ryan Luther explained as he worked on a robot he is creating for a competition.

The project requires creative thinking, problem solving and team work. The skills engineering instructor Brian Lidington says students need to be successful. 

"I spent 20 years in the electronics industry, and I think people are crying out for a skill set that's hard to do in core courses alone," Lidington said.

The new STEM wing at the high school provides students the space they need to build almost anything they can imagine.

"STEM is the integration of science, technology and math," Lidington said.

"We create an environment that would imitate the corporate engineering environment. We're brain storming, coming up with new ideas, prototyping, testing, critiquing and then coming back and revising," he said.

Office Depot partnered with Lovejoy high school to help furnish the wing.

A bond program passed in 2014 funded the wing which includes twelve classrooms, two engineering labs, five computer labs and one think tank incubator space.

Lovejoy High School Principal Chris Mayfield is excited to see where the experience will lead students.

"Collaboration, creativity, problem solving...regardless of the world they get into ten years from now, and who knows what technology we'll have, they're going to possess those skills that make them successful," he said.