Looking for a fun, new semester-long class to put in your schedule for next year? Try Intro to Engineering! This class is part of the new STEAM initiative at Regina.

Mrs. Locher is the teacher behind the scenes of this class. Beginning last spring and summer, she attended numerous workshops and conferences which led her to the idea of opening the STEAM Lab. Locher says that she received funding with the help of Mrs. Kitchie. With funds and ideas, she planned the STEAM Lab. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.

Mrs. Locher says that the Team STEAM club was hard to maintain. She realized that girls at Regina had really busy schedules and the meetings were hard to coordinate. She then thought of the idea of creating a class centered around the idea of STEAM instead.

Locher says, “The objective of the class is to give girls the chance to actually fail and figure out why they failed. Failing is learning.”

Locher also states that she will be learning alongside the girls as she teaches the class for the first time. She is most excited about being exposed to new things and building different objects alongside her students.

Locher also emphasizes the fact that students do not need to be strong in math and science to join the class. Girls can use creativity to problem solve. The “A” in STEAM starts for art, which applies to the creativity and building aspects.

The class will offer the option to contract for an honors credit. This credit can go towards either math or science.  Those who enroll in honors will not have any extra work, but their projects will be more challenging than those enrolled in level 2. Level 3 will be graded with a different rubric for their projects.

Another key point for students to understand is that the course doesn’t mean they have to major in engineering in college if they plan on taking Mrs. Locher’s class.  The class, though, will give them a great idea what engineering is all about.

Overall, this class will give students an opportunity to “tinker” with new things they have never seen before, and give them an introduction to engineering.