TOME — Dozens of students in two Valencia County elementary schools will now have access to high-tech learning tools — everything from 3D printers to robots — to help them advance their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math.

The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, in partnership with ExxonMobil, recently announced the opening of new STEM Centers at Tomé Elementary, in the Los Lunas Schools district, and Gil Sanchez Elementary, in the Belen Consolidated Schools district.

The schools received state-of-the-art STEM Centers, chock full of educational products, technology, furniture and more.

The learning centers include carts that can be loaded up with educational tools and transported to any classroom on campus for lessons.

Susan Chavez, the chief student services officer for Los Lunas Schools, said she was excited about the centers and looked forward to what she and other educators could learn from students.

“I can’t wait to see what you can teach us when we get older,” Chavez told the Tomé Elementary students, who gathered for an assembly to announce the STEM lab at their school earlier this month.

Julia M. Dendinger | News-Bulletin photo
Vrissa Calderon, a fifth-grader at Tomé Elementary, watches the robot follow the coded path she drew using one of the kits in the school’s new STEM Center. Many of the items provided in the center focus on ways to give students as young as kindergarten the chance to learn basic coding and programming skills.

While the ribbon cutting ceremony and kick-off was held at Tomé Elementary, teachers at both school sites received two days of hands-on training with the center equipment.

Carla Martinez, principal at Gil Sanchez Elementary, said her staff members “had a blast” when they went through the training.

“You’re going to love it,” Martinez told the students and teachers at the assembly. “STEM is a treat for all learning styles — visual and hands on, all of it.”

New Mexico Rep. Tanya Mirabal-Moya (R-7), who is a science teacher at Belen High School, also attended the assembly. During a conversation with an Exxon representative, Mirabal-Moya spoke about her desire to ignite a passion for STEM in students at the high school.

“She told me about the Cal Ripken Foundation, and I am so excited for you younger students right not,” Mirabal-Moya said. “This is creating a foundation and love of STEM now which is an awesome thing for all of us. I can’t wait to come back and you can show me what you’ve created.”

Ashley Wagner, with New Mexico Public and Government Affairs for ExxonMobil, told the students she hoped the centers would inspire them to chose a STEM career.

“These centers are significant because this is the first time our industry has installed them outside the Permian Basin,” said Wagner, who grew up in  Valencia County and graduated from Los Lunas High School. “Thank you for welcoming Exxon into your community.”

Julia M. Dendinger | News-Bulletin photo
Tomé Elementary fourth graders Adariel Ponce and Xavier Jones experiment with the Bee Bots, one of the many hands-on educational items in the school’s new STEM Center. Gil Sanchez Elementary also received a center, courtesy of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, in partnership with ExxonMobil.

Over the course of two days, Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation staff and ExxonMobil volunteers installed the centers and trained teachers at both schools to deliver STEM programming with custom-designed lessons and educational products.

“We are thrilled to bring these new STEM Centers to both the Los Lunas and Belen school districts,” said Steve Salem, president and CEO of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation.

“Thanks to the immense support from ExxonMobil, we can provide communities access to these centers and bring STEM training and education to teachers and students, positively impacting them for many years to come.”

The STEM Center openings in New Mexico was initiated through a partnership with the foundation and the Permian Strategic Partnership’s STEM Center Program in the Permian Basin, which is installing fully-equipped centers in 134 elementary schools in the Permian Basin reaching 60,000 kids during the course of five years.

The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 2001 to honor the legend and spirit of Cal Ripken Sr.

Focused on the values that Cal Ripken Sr. embodied as a devoted coach and mentor, including leadership, work ethic, personal responsibility and healthy living, the organization has opened 275 STEM Centers nationwide, among its other programs, helping strengthen America’s most under-served communities by supporting and advocating for children.

To learn more about the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and its STEM program, visit ripkenfoundation.org/programs/stem.

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Julia M. Dendinger began working at the VCNB in 2006. She covers Valencia County government, Belen Consolidated Schools and the village of Bosque Farms. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande chapter’s board of directors.