Jody Opheim said her grade school-aged daughter is always curious. In school, however, Opheim said her daughter was always told she had to wait to do things above her grade level.
Opheim said that”s what inspired Eureka! Palouse, Inc.
“I want to provide a place where kids can come in and learn the possibilities,” Opheim said. “Learn what they don”t know, and become familiar with those subjects.”
Opheim is the president of Eureka! Palouse, an Idaho nonprofit organization and 4-H affiliate. Opheim said it was started by a small group of people who want to further the community”s access to STEM disciplines.
She said it ultimately aims to bring together the University of Idaho, Washington State University, the Moscow School District and local STEM industries for the benefit of the community and its youth by offering a space in which students can further explore STEM disciplines that interest them.
“Our goal is to give kids a good background in their fields so that they”re more comfortable and familiar with them,” Opheim said. “Hopefully more of them will decide to go into their fields in college or as careers straight out of high school.”
Opheim said this goal is shared between the board members and everyone involved in Eureka! Palouse, including local businesses.
Without the support of Frontier Communications, Eureka! Palouse would not be opening, Opheim said.
“They happened to be vacating a part of their space, so we asked if Frontier would like to be a partner with us, and they were very excited about the opportunity,” Opheim said. “They have signed on as our founding corporate sponsor for three years.”
Melinda Hamilton, board member for Eureka! Palouse and director of STEM education at UI, has also supported the program.
“The key here is inspiring children and giving them a really fun place that they”re actually doing hands-on things with science, math and technology,” Hamilton said.
She said her goal is for kids to think, “”wow, this is so fun, I didn”t know it could be like this.””
“I think that”s what we are really after,” Hamilton said. “Inspiring kids so that they do, in addition to finding it interesting, learn more and become more confident.”
Eureka! Palouse will open in January in a rollout process, and will probably begin by hosting about 70 students a week. While Opheim said initially there will only be three clubs, she said there will eventually be tutoring, a tinkering center and other activities for students to participate in both independently and with their parents.
Opheim said the organization is aiming to compliment the opportunities and experiences provided by the Palouse Discovery Science Center and the Moscow School District.
“I left a career as a research scientist because of my passion for getting more kids involved in STEM, and this wonderful program is being brought right here to Moscow, a town that I have come to love, and I just want to see the benefit to our children and education in Idaho,” Hamilton said.
Diamond Koloski can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @diamond_uidaho