Education
BY KAREN CHANEY
LISD Wonder Wagon makes science mobile Lori Klimek has held many positions at Lewisville ISD. Now, her job includes gold shoes and a cape. Klimek, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) specialist, drives the Wonder Wagon to 20 LISD elementary schools. The details Before driving the Wonder Wagon—a custom Ford van that transports a mobile STEM classroom—to schools, Klimek sends a lesson plan to the teachers along with a video for students. Students are divided into teams for challenges. The time spent with the Wonder Wagon and lesson di culty grows with each grade level. “All the lessons are grounded in the engineering design process,” Klimek said. Elementary STEM Administrator Kim Warr said ve LISD elementaries are STEM academies, 14 get weekly STEM classes and 20 are on the wagon route.
Lori Klimek is a LISD STEM specialist who drives the Wonder Wagon, which features customized branding and mascots.
KAREN CHANEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
How it happened The wagon was funded in 2021 by The Rao Foun- dation and the LISD Education Foundation. Klimek said the department enlists volunteers like parents who help facilitate lessons, high school students who help test experiments and local engineers that explain their occupations. “[One engineer] said ... ‘you are learning in kindergarten ... how to do my job,’” Klimek said.
When students participate in Wonder Wagon activities, they work in groups to solve challenges while wearing super hero capes.
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