A unique aspect of our Lewisville School of Science & Technology (SciTech) is the Pathways in Technology (P-TECH) options. The campus proudly offers its students the following four diverse P-TECH and STEM Pathways, aiming to forge a promising future and prepare students for success in technology and science-related fields with hands-on learning and personalized support:
Through these specialized programs, students engage in work-based learning and have the opportunity to earn industry-recognized certifications. Three of the Pathways, Engineering, Computer Science/Cybersecurity, and Biomedical, allow students to compete in the NASA HUNCH program as the capstone, where they present innovative solutions to real-life challenges posed by the space agency. Participation in the program provides students with industry-based experience and the opportunity to work on a project that affects actual change, impacting future projects and programs for NASA.
Every year, students prove they are not without creative and innovative ideas for the space agency’s proposed projects. We spoke with our Lewisville SciTech teacher, Robert Burke, about the groundbreaking solutions the campus teams came up with for this year’s competition.
Students present their lunar calendar, Calendar Consortium, at the campus Critical Design Review.
Burke shared solutions ranging from a portable IV to take and filter water in space to a cosmic calendar that the campus’ computer science students are developing, where they’ve written Java-based code to create a software program that allows astronauts to normalize day, time, and communication delay from Earth to space.
And that’s not all. One SciTech team is growing bamboo from seedlings on the moon. Students have designed a lunar greenhouse dedicated to bamboo growth in space, complete with plumbing, HVAC, and an electrical system. Meanwhile, another is developing a robotic duster mobility arm to help eliminate equipment dust in the Space Station and other proposed facilities in space, such as the Star Lab and Axiom Space Stations, while keeping microgravity in mind.
Students demonstrate their robotic duster mobility arm, Project Pneumotion, at the campus Critical Design Review.
Finalists from students and teams across the United States are still getting selected for this year’s NASA HUNCH final review, with several of our SciTech teams already named. All finalists will travel to Houston, Texas, on April 16 to present their projects at the NASA Johnson Space Center for final review.
Lewisville SciTech teacher Mark Stauffer says these opportunities and the critical skills these programs and certifications provide set their students apart after high school.
“Our P-TECH programs aim to provide students with the knowledge and tools necessary to compete in the workforce as soon as they graduate high school,” said Stauffer. “While it is important for students to understand the course material, these pathways also provide students with unique opportunities to practice a range of other skills critical for the workforce, such as time management, critical thinking, and teamwork.”
Lewisville School of Science & Technology is a tuition-free public charter school serving students in grades K-12. To learn more about Lewisville SciTech and how they empower the innovators of tomorrow or to apply, visit SciTechTx.com.
