Athens State cuts ribbon on Northrop Grumman STEM lab

Taylor Lane, The News Courier, Athens, Ala.
·2 min read

Jan. 27—Athens State cut the ribbon on the Northrop Grumman STEM Learning Lab on Thursday. This lab will serve to train STEM teacher candidates with lessons they will actually use in their future classrooms.

"I'm just so excited to celebrate this new learning space," Interim Provost Lee Vartanian said. "We are celebrating a wonderful learning space that has popped up, and this couldn't have happened without a really wonderful collaboration."

Vartanian recognized Dr. Marla Williams who was a pioneer of the project.

"This would not have been possible without her," Vartanian said. "She's what I would call a Jedi teacher, one of these teachers that just is making magic in the classroom."

"She knew, as an elementary educator, that she needed to teach science with hands," Vartanian said. "Science education doesn't work when you're just doing worksheets or watching a video."

The university set Williams up with a STEM lab in the basement of the gymnasium to provide hands on learning for STEM teacher candidates.

"She had a dream that maybe we can move out of the basement and and have a really legit STEM lab," Vartanian said.

Williams knew she needed a space for STEM, and the Northrop Grumman STEM Lab is a realization of that dream.

Athens State Philanthropy Officer Brandy Conway connected with Northrop Grumman who ultimately provided Athens State with a grant for the project.

"I was so delighted when they gave us this $25,000 to be able to support the wonderful STEM toys [in the lab]," Vartanian said. "I want to thank Northrop Grumman for your commitment to STEM education because you know, this is going to help our teachers become better STEM teachers, and it's going to help our kids become the future engineers and scientists that are going to move our society forward."

"I just want to say thank you [Northrop Grumman], for allowing this, for your continued support, and of course building and creating and having young engineers excited about the future and and retaining them here. We just want to say thank you for your support and contribution," Athens-Limestone Chamber of Commerce President Pammie Jimmar said.