Jackson Middle School student Emma Tessum works on coding her train Tuesday as students got a visit from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC). Students were asked to code trains to make stops, accounting for the time it would take for passengers to get on the train and the speed it would take to slow down and make the stops. (Photo provided)

VIENNA — Jackson Middle School seventh-graders got a visit Tuesday from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC) and learned about coding trains to make stops and pick up passengers.

“Steam tech is designed to give middle school and high school students a hands-on, career based experience that connects directly to the curriculum that they’re learning,” STEAM-TAC specialist Melissa Bane said.

Bane said STEAM-TAC immersion activities cover a range of subjects, including engineering design, computer science, agriculture, and earth science. She said for example, the projectile launcher project helps students learn about seventh-grade science standards while also focusing on math skills like data collection and analysis.

Beyond the technical skills, she said the program emphasizes career exploration. Before each lesson, teachers receive a pre-visit presentation that not only provides content information but also connects the activities to relevant career clusters. Bane said this helps students understand the practical applications of what they are learning.

“It gives them the content information that they need, but also connects the lesson to careers,” Bane said. “So it helps the teachers explore the career clusters in middle school and high school, and gives them all kinds of ideas of how they can connect that they wouldn’t normally know.”

Jackson Middle School seventh-graders Jace Davis and Aspen Farr watch their intelino train make a stop Tuesday as students got a visit from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC). Students were asked to code trains to make stops, accounting for the time it would take for passengers to get on the train and the speed it would take to slow down and make the stops. (Photo provided)

Students were asked to code trains to make stops, accounting for the time it would take for passengers to get on the train and the speed it would take to slow down and make the stops. Many found the real-time interaction with the code to be the most engaging part.

“I thought it was kind of difficult at first, because there’s so many different things you have to learn,” seventh-grader Fallon Lindamood said. “But it was fun.”

Emma Tessum said she really enjoyed programming the codes, placing the markers on the tracks and seeing the results.

“I thought it was pretty neat how the train would pick up the tiles,” Tessum said about the train scanning the placed markers. “I thought that was cool.”

Asper Farr said he enjoyed learning how to put the codes together and seeing the train move afterwards. Jace Davis said he was happy he got the opportunity to learn from STEAM-TAC.

Jackson Middle School students Payton Rector and Kairi Matterson watch their train move along the track Tuesday after a visit from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC). (Photo provided)

“I’m glad they came to Jackson Middle School and gave us a chance to code,” Davis said.

Tessum agreed with him.

“The ladies were really nice, and they came and congratulated us whenever we did something good, or on the first try,” Tessum said.

More information on STEAM-TAC can be found at steamtac.wvu.edu.

Jackson Middle School seventh-graders Jackson Walker and Noah Smith set up their train stop marker Tuesday after the school got a visit from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC). (Photo provided)

Jackson Middle School seventh-graders Jackson Walker and Noah Smith set up their train stop marker Tuesday after the school got a visit from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC). (Photo provided)

Seventh-graders Carter Stevens and Jaxon Halloway work on coding their intelino train Tuesday at Jackson Middle School after a visit from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC). (Photo provided)

Seventh-graders Lilly Kelly and Cloe Stephens work on coding their intelino train Tuesday at Jackson Middle School after a visit from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC). (Photo provided)

Jackson Middle School seventh-graders Maddie Thorn and Alexandra Somich work on coding their intelino train Tuesday at Jackson Middle School after a visit from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC). (Photo provided)

Jackson Middle School seventh-graders Zariah Kelly and Rylie Kellar celebrate after getting their train to respond to their coding. Students got a visit from the WVU STEAM Technical Assistance Center (TAC) and were asked to code trains to make stops, accounting for the time it would take for passengers to get on the train, and the speed it would take to slow down and make the stops. (Photo provided)