Liberty receives large donation for STEM trips
Posted on 02/14/2020
Masons donate to Liberty STEM Club(SPS) -- During Random Act of Kindness Week, the students at Liberty Elementary experienced what it was like to be the recipient of someone else’s benevolence.

Members of the Sapulpa Masonic Lodge joined the students in gymnasium on Thursday to present Ms. McCallum and the STEM Club with a check for $21,634.10, which will be used to pay for future learning expeditions.

“Without their partnership, I don’t think these trips would happen,” said Ms. McCallum. “This community supports our students and wants the very best for them.”

The money was raised through fundraisers jointly held by the school and the Masons and will be used to help pay for trips the club will take to California and Texas in March. The goal is to extend the students’ education beyond the classroom.

“It gives them experiences that a lot of others don’t have. It gives them an edge when they’re learning things, they now have a background in that area and so the information makes a lot more sense to them,” said Ms. McCallum.

As they’ve done in recent years on these STEM trips, the students and sponsors will follow a well-planned itinerary that is packed with educational opportunities.

“I liked going on the STEM trip with all the people and the adventure we got to go on,” said 3rd-grader Kaydence Queen about the trip she took last year.

The first group will head to southern Texas to Space Center Houston, participate in various experiments at a children’s science lab, join Texas A&M representatives on a research vessel and to dissect a shark with them.

The second group will go to California where they will board a whale-watching cruise, go to the San Diego Zoo to learn about its conservation efforts, participate in a forensics lab at the Fleet Science Center, and a fish dissection at the Birch Aquarium.

Thanks to the Masons and their help with fundraisers, as well as their large donation, these excursions are a reality as parents only have to pay for approximately 30 percent of the expense. And the students love it.

“It creates an excitement for learning. It gives them a passion for what they could be when they get bigger, things that they haven’t heard about here before,” said Ms. McCallum.

“I like learning and having fun at the same time,” said 4th-grader Ruby Beatty.

This will be the sixth year the STEM Club will travel. In the summer of 2022, a trip to Europe is being planned.