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The Barstow Schools opens 'IDEA Space' public STEAM facility in former grocery store

Barstow IDEA Space.JPG
Posted at 6:47 AM, Sep 12, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-12 07:51:25-04

LEAWOOD, Kan. — Students from all across the metro have a new, state of the art facility designed specifically for STEAM education. The Barstow Schools officially cuts the ribbon on its IDEA Space Tuesday.

IDEA stands for innovation, discovery, entrepreneurship and arts. STEAM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

“It’s the future of education,” said Shane Foster, president of The Barstow Schools. “It’s combining traditional educational techniques with the future where our children need to be able to have experiential learning in a space like this where they can innovate, they can design, they can create, they can try to do different projects, maybe fail, but continue to move forward.”

Everything inside the Dan and Cassidy Towriss IDEA Space is by design.

The facility is split into four major areas:

  • A maker space with 3D printers where students use a hands-on approach to turn ideas into reality.
  • A fabrication workshop where students learn to use tools and develop skills.
  • A technology lab where students learn principles of coding, programming, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
  • An incubation hub where students develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

Built inside the former Hy-Vee grocery store near 122nd Street and State Line Road in Leawood, Kansas, there is room for the space to expand in the future.

“Everything you see in IDEA Space was done on purpose, there’s nothing that happened here by accident,” explained Kellye Crockett, the facility’s director and Barstow’s vice president of innovation.

Barstow relied on information from civic groups like KC Rising and KC STEM Alliance who’ve researched the local labor market. The school designed this IDEA Space to expose students to in-demand careers in order to inspire students to meet the future workforce needs of the metropolitan area. Those needs include advanced manufacturing, engineering, computer science and skilled trades. Life sciences is another in-demand career field civic groups have highlighted, which might be part of Barstow’s future expansion.

“You see what you want to do when you grow up so you can get your priorities straight and figure out where you want to go for college, what you want to do on your resumé so you get the job you want. It’s better to organize earlier than later,” explained Veer Singh, a fifth grade student at The Barstow Schools.

Barstow students in kindergarten through fifth grade spend about two hours a week inside the IDEA Space. Middle and upper school students sign up for electives courses based at the facility, which is about a mile south of Barstow’s main Kansas City, Missouri, campus.

The independent school has opened the lab to students from all across the metro. Parents can enroll their children in after-school and summer programming. Scholarships are available to cover the costs. Information about those programs is online.

Teachers from neighboring districts, as well as private or charter schools, can collaborate with Barstow to work at IDEA Space during normal school hours with their own students.

During a soft launch this summer, students from the Grandview, Missouri, School District participated in a course where they programmed a virtual reality model of the human heart.

“Your zip code no longer dictates when you have access to outstanding STEAM learning experiences,” Crockett said.

The ribbon cutting on this $9 million facility is Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Barstow will host an educator open house Thursday, Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. This is a chance for teachers to discover how they can collaborate with the space.