Helping STEM Take Root: Engaging the Minds of Students

Helping STEM Take Root: Engaging the Minds of Students

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To see a hopeful future for science education, look no further than the Raccoon Creek watershed in rural Ohio. There, Vinton County High School students are literally getting their feet wet, testing water and examining fish to investigate the impact of acid drainage from more than a century’s worth of coal mining in the Appalachians.

It’s real science, and science that’s of real importance to the high-poverty region. But it’s also a way for these high school students to discover that there are meaningful careers available to them in their rural community. For some, this realization could inspire them to make a difference in the lives of their families and friends through a career in the sciences.