(Shereen Siewert, Wisconsin Public Radio) A Wausau-born education program that began with a discarded yellow school bus has grown into a statewide mobile classroom, giving generations of Wisconsin students a hands-on introduction to science, engineering and space exploration.
According to Shereen Siewert with Wisocnsin Public Radio, the STEM Shuttle, created by retired Wausau teacher Sharon Ryan, is marking its 20th year traveling to schools across Wisconsin. The program grew out of Dream Flight Wausau, a 1990 project Ryan developed while teaching at John Marshall Elementary School in the Wausau School District.
Ryan said the idea was rooted in a simple belief: Students learn more deeply when they can step inside the lesson. “Put it in the hands of your students and wish them well,” Ryan said. The original Dream Flight program transformed a school bus into a space shuttle and built a schoolwide curriculum around it.
Students took on roles as astronauts, reporters, doctors, radio operators and mission control staff. Parents, grandparents and volunteers helped make flight suits and support the effort. The initiative ran for 10 years in Wausau schools.
After the district program ended, Ryan continued the concept through the Dream Flight USA Foundation. Since 2005, the STEM Shuttle has used a converted motor coach to bring science, technology, engineering and math lessons to middle school and upper elementary students.
The shuttle typically visits schools for one to three days at a time. The program now has its own generational history. During a spring visit to Lodi Elementary School, the father of two students was recognized as one of the original Dream Flight crew members from 1990.
His wife, who works at the school, wore the same uniform he wore decades earlier. Teachers say the program does more than teach science concepts. “Through trial and error, students learned that making mistakes is a stepping stone to discovery, rather than a failure,” teachers in the Mellen School District wrote after a spring visit.
Additional stops are planned throughout Wisconsin this fall.
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