Fernan celebrates STEM night, funding for greenhouse project

Fernan STEM Academy welcomed more than 400 visitors last week during its Health and Safety STEM night.

Students who entered the building were given Fernan lab coats to wear as they explored a variety of topics relating to health and safety, including CPR, first aid, physical therapy and fitness, phlebotomy, pulmonary and respiratory systems, germs, medical entomology and dental health.

Fernan staff members teamed up with community partners to provide these interactive opportunities. They observed pig lungs and created lung models, learned about germs, made booger slime, examined ticks and made a natural bug repellent.

Community partners who contributed to the successful STEM night include Texas Roadhouse, Vitalant, Kootenai Health, ALK Source Materials, Lifestyle Physical Therapy, Heritage Health, Coeur d'Alene Police Department, Coeur d'Alene Fire Department, University of Idaho Extension Center, Avondale Dental, Gizmo-CDA and Coeur d'Alene Public Library.

In other Fernan news, the school on Wednesday received $5,000 from the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d'Alene to fund the construction of an insulated greenhouse for the school. The greenhouse will allow Fernan to better utilize existing garden beds by enabling students to experience a full growing season of project-based learning in years to come.

"The Kiwanis Club of Coeur d'Alene is honored to support Fernan and its students with the greenhouse project," Kiwanis Club President Megan Tollackson said. "The hands-on experiences Fernan STEM Academy provides are an inspiration to the future of education. What they do, day-in and day-out, is perfectly aligned with the Kiwanis mission: 'Improving the world, one child and one community at a time.'"