As education shifts and changes, the West Mifflin Area School District strives to stay on the cutting edge.

For the science department, that means taking learning outside, into a hands-on environment. Outside of the high school building is the outdoor STEAM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classroom, equipped with a greenhouse, aquaponics system, pond, pollinator garden, and edible/ sensory garden. The aquaponics system combines raising fish in tanks with soilless plant culture, using the nutrient-rich fish water to help fertilize the plants. 

First conceptualized and started a few years ago, the STEAM classroom has been added upon and upgraded, reaching its most highly functioning state over the last couple of years. In the fall semester, Alexis Zywan — a veteran science teacher in the district — taught a Sustainable STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) class. 

The class focused on topics such as environmental science, sustainable engineering, aquaponics, sustainable farming, sustainable agriculture, water pollution and terraforming, using the outdoor STEAM classroom as a hands-on learning tool to help facilitate the topics.

“The sustainable STEM kids really liked it,” Zywan said. “They loved learning about how it all works together.”

Zywan said she also used the class to teach students about a variety of careers that might be possible through the skills learned to maintain the outdoor STEAM classroom.

“Sometimes kids don’t understand the variety of interconnectedness of different careers,” Zywan said. “Hopefully it opens some kids’ eyes about a number of different jobs.”

Zywan has taken the lead of maintaining the outdoor STEAM classroom, a responsibility passed onto her by a former teacher. She’s been happy to take the task on. Beyond thinking of various ways to integrate the outdoor classroom into learning, she’s been able to pass on her personal hobby of gardening to some students. At the moment, the greenhouse is growing tomatoes and lettuce, among other plants.

“I really enjoy gardening and talking to kids about this sort of stuff,” Zywan said. “It definitely is gratifying, especially because there are some students who don’t understand where their food comes from and how it all works.”

Zywan said the aquaponics system and pond allows students to see several important ecological concepts at work, such as the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, energy flows, biodiversity, aquaculture, and sustainable agricultural practices. The pollinator garden gives students a deeper understanding of how plants — especially native specimens — are paramount to maintaining a robust and diverse ecosystem, while the edible/ sensory garden provides a glimpse into the diversity of the plant world, and how many different plants and plant parts are consumable.  

Zywan is hopeful to continue to see the outdoor STEAM grow in its use. She’s working with middle school science teachers and elementary school teachers on ways to integrate lessons with their kids, so they can eventually bring them over to see the outdoor classroom. Additionally, fourth grade students are planning to come over in May to plant seed for an integrated lesson. She’s hopeful to grow enough fruits and vegetables down the line for cooking students to use the produce, and envisions other ways that her peers can integrate the classroom, like doing water quality testing in chemistry class. 

Beyond thinking of deeper ways to use the outdoor classrooms, Zywan said it's been valuable in providing a different environment to teach students, when weather permits.

“They do definitely appreciate the different setting,” said Zywan. “It’s something different than looking at the four walls with fluorescent lighting.”