BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — Lanier Elementary School teacher Renee Powell unveiled the classroom of her dreams on Monday after winning ORAU's $25,000 Extreme Classroom Makeover.
3D printers line the wall. There are robots, microscopes, drones, and even sewing machines.
"I had the dream in my head of what I wanted this room to look like. I just couldn't get the creative video part down," Powell said about the video application process.
Her fifth-grade students jumped in to help.
"Her kids stepped up and said, 'we can put this together. Give us a chance to pay this forward.' It was totally the kids' idea to fill out the application and do this," said ORAU's Chief Executive Officer Andy Page.
The $25,000 prize couldn't have come at a better time. Last spring, a storage shed behind the school where Powell kept most of her STEM supplies caught fire, destroying everything inside.
"I was kind of down about it. I told my principal, we can't start over. Maybe, we just won't have STEM next year," Powell recalled. Little did she know, her principal had just received word that they had won the makeover contest. "I got cold chills when she told me she found out that same day. I just think it's a God thing."
After a busy summer of shopping and designing, Powell unveiled the new STEM lab and a renovated TV studio on Monday.
Several of her former students who helped with the process were there for the excitement.
"I'm just wowed that it looks this nice!" exclaimed rising sixth-grader Savannah Garner.
Powell said she's looking forward to using all the new tools and gadgets to inspire students to find their passions.