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WARREN — Warren City Schools rolled out a new Mobile STEM Lab on Tuesday, offering school board members and administrators a view of a high-tech classroom on wheels.

Parked outside Warren G. Harding High School’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center, Danielle Miller, supervisor of technology at Warren City Schools, led the tour and explained how the district built this program from the top down.

“Over the last few years, we have really built out our pathways for careers up at the high school, really trying to see … what skills are needed from our students, so when they leave us, they’re prepared, and they have a lot to offer,” Miller said. “We really concentrate on the high school bringing in drone technology and robotics and state-of-the-art robotics facility.”

She added that the same tools, including computer science, programming, drones and robots, have now reached middle school, but the real gap was in pre-K through fifth grade.

“What can we do in PK-5? … If we introduce it to them young, we spark the interest, then they kind of have like a pathway … of electives and coursework that they could go through,” Miller said.

During the preview, school board members and administrators toured the lab, and board members Regina Patterson and Dr. Alisha Alls even tried their hand at mini soccer, getting a feel for the interactive space. Miller explained that even the controllers the board members used were programmable by the students.

The lab is set to begin its school visits this month, bringing cutting-edge technology directly to students and creating memorable learning experiences.

The 38-foot lab, built on a Freightliner chassis, was funded through a combination of federal American Rescue Plan dollars and Title I funds.

During the tour, Miller said it is equipped with a 3D printing farm, a 55-inch Interactive Smart Panel, and nine computer workstations, including one designed for wheelchair access.

It will visit Warren’s five school buildings, focusing on different grade levels each month, starting with fifth graders this month.

Miller said the lab offers lessons in computer science, robotics, and 3D printing, tailored to each grade. Students will join in small groups for hands-on projects, like programming robots. Instructors explained during the tour that kids will even learn to code the different controls on handheld controllers, turning play into real skill building.

“We’ve noticed … they’re obsessed with the robots. They love coding, they love problem solving,” Miller said. “And what we’re seeing with them is they’re starting to collaborate more and problem solve and discuss ‘Hey, it didn’t work the way it was supposed to. What do you think about it?’ … It’s fostering not just only the tech skills … it’s also interpersonal relationship skills and collaborating with your peers.”

She noted that the program weaves in math, science and reading to create well-rounded students ready for a world full of automation and cybersecurity jobs.

“There’s so much automation and robotic programming, and it’s like you need the individuals … to create the program or the robot or the automation to perform the given task,” Miller said. “That’s just the world in which we live. So giving them that foundation is so important.”

Superintendent Steve Chiaro first announced plans for the mobile lab at a January board meeting, talking about its role in the district’s vision to expand STEM education. He also noted that the mobile lab is a cost-effective way to bring advanced technology to all students without building four separate labs in each school.

“The Warren City School District is excited to offer this outstanding learning opportunity to our students, like none other in our region,” Chiaro said. “We expect our Mobile STEM Lab to motivate and inspire learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for students of all ages across the district.”

The district said the mobile lab is the first of its kind in a Trumbull County public school district. It also fits with Ohio’s recent investments in mobile STEM programs. In September, that included the state’s $1.3 million investment to the TECH Mobile STEM Initiative to generate more interest in STEM among underserved schools across the state. Across the country, experts are pushing for kids to get into STEM early to keep up with a fast-changing, tech-driven world, as they warned that lagging skills could hurt innovation and jobs in the future.