New Table, New Opportunities

Luke Daines & Ashley Patterson, Staffers

 

Nearing the STEM floor, a hot new topic is in the air. STEM students and teachers alike, buzz about the new Anatomy Table. Purchased with recently approved grant money awarded to STEM Director Jennifer Jensen, STEM hopes to offer biomedical and advanced science pathway students a more interactive glimpse into the human body.

 

In 2021, Ms. Jennifer Jensen, was awarded around an 80,000 dollar grant specifically for the purchase of an Anatomage Table. Due to its fragile nature, the table will be explicitly for the use of STEM High and Middle schools. STEM Academy is one of the only schools in the San Antonio area with such a prestigious table; only UIW has a similar table in the area. This table is utilized by medical universities who use models to educate students on human body systems or train them on rare and hard to perform surgeries. 

 

Teachers such as Ms. Clark, the STEM Biotechnology, Medical Microbiology, and Pathophysiology teacher, Mr. Richter, the STEM AP Biology and Anatomy teacher, and Ms. Chadwick, the STEM Biology teacher, are excited to use the table. 

 

“I am extremely excited for it. I come from a school without such resources as these and when I applied for a job here, one of the main attractions was this Anatomy table,” said Mr. Richter. Teachers are also waiting for additional professional training on the use of the table on September 7th, 2022 provided by the grant . 

 

“For us and our students, this is very exciting to take part in. This is an extremely helpful tool for students to decide what they want to do with their lives, it will help them dream big and plan out their future,” said Ms. Jensen. 

 

With the table, students are able to view the human body systems in the form of a digital cadaver. They can separate body systems and even compare them to animal systems to study the differences and what makes the human body unique. 

 

“I am beyond excited, I am an anatomy nerd and to have this lifesize table instead of a tiny tablet version is huge…I cannot sit still,” said Ms. Chadwick. For STEM, this grant is a boost for all pathways and students alike. 

 

Students are promised a chance to use the new table at least once in their STEM career and see for themselves the opportunities it has. Learning and exploring past the standard teaching methods are what makes STEM a STEM school and with this table, students can truly explore their true potential.

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