A stem is something on an apple, but today, STEM, capitalized, is much more. It is a crucial component of education. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math — skills vital to understand in the world of the 21st century.

Essex Elementary School is preparing its students for that world with its new STEM classroom lab, ready for the start of school this year. The lab was funded with a grant from the Essex Elementary School Foundation (EESF) and developed for Essex Elementary by the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford. The goal is to provide both the opportunity and the space for creative learning and experimentation in STEM subjects.

“We want our community of Essex Elementary School students to be inspired by the potential future of STEM careers,” noted William Jacaruso, the president of EESF.

Students visited the new lab during an Essex Elementary open house two days before the start of school. Tables were arranged with equipment to illustrate various scientific concepts.

At one, Cassandra Wilk, an educator from the Connecticut Science Center, was setting up materials to show students the properties of polymers, large molecule chains that make up things from synthetic plastics to DNA, the genetic messenger of human life. One of the materials she used to illustrate the properties of polymers was already familiar to the students: silly putty.

At another science station, STEM educator Andrew Fotta was demonstrating the properties of electricity with a Van de Graaf generator. When Sienna Dorso touched a large silver ball that was part of the machine with her hand, the current it generated made her long hair fly up.

“I felt something in my head. I felt a little but it didn’t really hurt,” she said. Nonetheless, her sister Kali declined the opportunity. “My hair is in a bun,” she explained.

“You will not get shocked,” Fotta reassured the students who lined up to try the machine, adding one caution, “unless you touch someone.”

Essex Elementary School principal Jennifer Tousignant said the STEM classroom will be used by the entire school population from kindergarten to sixth grade. Previously the room was used for sixth grade science with furniture not suitable for smaller students. Now the room has not only colorful hexagonal tables but modular stools that can be stacked to accommodate students of all heights.

Across one wall is a mural designed by dreamscapes design of Essex with not only illustrations but also scientific data to interest elementary school students. The information included the fact that sunlight takes eight minutes and 19 seconds to reach earth and some butterflies fly up to 200 miles a day.

EESF was created in 1996 to provide enrichment experiences for students beyond the resources of the school budget. The foundation is supported by public donation. Among the other school projects the group has sponsored are an Essex historian in residence, a virtual scientist in residence and world culture programs. The grant for the STEM classroom is the largest one the foundation has ever made.

The two other elementary schools that are part of Regional District 4, Deep River and Chester, do not have similar foundations, but Superintendent of Schools Brian White, who attended the official ribbon cutting to open the STEM classroom, noted those elementary schools also have groups that have worked to bring additional programs and services to the students. He pointed to the outdoor classroom at Chester Elementary School, completed in 2021. The project was spearheaded by Chester residents Lol and Charlene Fearon and financed contributions from local citizens and organizations.