Iowa Energy & Sustainability Academy Awarded $10,000 from Vernier

The Iowa Energy and Sustainability Academy (IESA) at Central Campus has been awarded a $10,000 grant from Vernier to purchase equipment and software that will enable students to do intricate weather, air, soil, and water quality testing.

“The equipment purchased with this grant money enables us to conduct experiments in all four areas out in the field,” explained Larry Beall, IESA instructor. “Students will be able to manipulate and interpret the results after they return from the field which will not only get them involved with topics relevant to the class objectives, but it will also get them experience with operating specialized equipment.”

After three decades of serving STEM education, Vernier awarded 10 U.S. high schools and 30 schools in total with a Vernier 30th Anniversary Technology Grant. Two thousand schools applied for the grant.

Vernier, on their website, stated the following about IESA:

“To reverse the troubling trend of fewer and fewer students pursuing majors in STEM disciplines at the college level, the Iowa Energy and Sustainability Academy (IESA) cross-curricular class provides rigorous STEM education offerings. Vernier’s grant will help the district by empowering students from diverse backgrounds to employ hands-on innovation and problem-solving strategies in order to critically understand the local and global impact of using Earth’s resources.”
Representatives from Vernier will train the students on the new equipment.

Founded in 1981, Vernier pioneers award-winning interfaces, sensors, software, and curriculum to transform how educators teach science and how students collect, analyze, and interpret scientific data.