Salem students share experiences from Summer STEM Club with school board

SALEM -- Some of the Salem City School District's young scientists shared their experiences as part of the district's Summer Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Club with the board of education during its August meeting.

The STEM Club offered eight weeks of educational programming for students in grades 3-5 which began the week after the 2025-2026 school year ended and continued through July.

Liz Frederickson, one of the club's advisors, said that the sessions covered a range of subjects including biology, chemistry, rockets, and animal anatomy and were attended by around 20-25 students each week. Frederickson also said that the club's programming was designed to incorporate and reinforce skills outside of those typically associated with STEM programming like writing, oral communication, data analysis, and teamwork.

"Every week they had a mini lesson. We did a PowerPoint presentation introducing them to the topic, and then they worked in small groups to complete the experiment or activity that day. We also provided them with a lab look, so they got some writing practice. My favorite part, which I think a lot of them enjoyed, was the favorite scientist presentations," Frederickson said. "Two to three students each week volunteered to research and present on their favorite scientist either with a poster or a PowerPoint presentation…They did so well. I teach doctorate level students and some of the communication skills in this group were phenomenal. I was so impressed."

The board also heard directly from some of the young scientists that participated in the lessons about their experience. Each of the students told the board about their favorite experiment and said that they were thankful for the STEM club.

Max Mowery, who will be a fourth grader at Reilly Elementary this year, told the board that he was grateful that Salem's schools offer programming like the STEM club that allows students to explore their interests and learn about science experientially. Max said that his favorite part of the program was getting to work with STEM concepts hands-on with his friends, and that his favorite experiment was the rocket launch.

"My two friends and I got to build our own rockets by following instructions. It was a little tricky at first, but we worked together to make it through. For our first launch we used a plastic bottle as the launching pad. I jumped on the bottle to launch our rocket, but I jumped a little too hard. The rocket took off but it didn't go too far, and I actually broke the launch pad," Max joked. "Later we got to use real National Geographic rockets and their launch pads. They worked a lot better. Then they go out to the rockets and compare how far each went. It was really fun seeing whose rocket dropped the furthest."

Mason Lauber told the board that participating in the STEM Club had "changed [his] view and how [he] looks at science." He said that his favorite activity was completing dissections of an artificial frog, a baby dog shark, and squid.

"We didn't just read a book or look at pictures. We were real hands-on scientists. I love learning new facts, but also having hands-on activities and investigating in real life made this an unforgettable adventure. These Summer STEM classes made us love learning and proved that even kids can do real science," Mason said.

Paislee Klemann told the board that her favorite experiment was the last of the summer, when students made their own rock-salt ice cream. Paislee said that after making their own ice cream students got to sample ice cream from Totally 80's Ice Ice Cream Shoppe and compare it to their own.

"I appreciate the people that volunteered for this program so we could have fun learning this summer," Paislee said.

Frederickson said that she and the other club advisors were grateful for the opportunity to work with the students over the summer and that they hoped to hold the STEM Club again next summer. Following the presentation, the students were presented certificates honoring their scientific exploits by the board and Superintendent Jamie Kemats.

The board of education will meet next at 7 p.m. on Sept. 21.