This article from PHS student reporter, Brianna Ferguson, was originally published here in the Peekskill Herald. 

As an ambassador of the new STEAM lab that opened at Peekskill High School in December, I had a unique view on the unveiling of the $3 million innovation lab when student families and members of the Peekskill community were welcomed. I heard comments from visitors about how the innovation center felt like a professional college setting. Community members were awestruck at this top-rate facility. Teachers were also excited to see the location of their new classrooms and expressed gratitude for the ways the improved technology will help them teach.

Peekskill High School’s STEAM Innovation Center provides a new way of learning for students. STEAM stands for Science Technology Engineering Arts Math. The purpose of the innovation center is to have creative classroom space where students can learn collaboratively, preparing them for college and career opportunities. Robotics is one example of what students will participate in while at the STEAM lab.

As a junior at PHS, this new STEAM Innovation Center will improve my learning experiences for the next year and a half. I am currently in the Peekskill Science Research Program, a 3-year-college course in partnership with the University of Albany. In this program, we do extensive research on a topic we are passionate about. We design our own experiments and then collect data out in the field.

I am interested in an invasive plant species called Japanese Barberry. This spring I will go to the Westmoreland Sanctuary in Mt. Kisco and collect specimens of the Japanese Barberry. With the data we collect we use the new and improved software from the STEAM lab to make more thorough and detailed projects to bring to science fairs.