Virtual reality recently came to life inside a Lakeview Middle School computer lab.
“All systems go?”
The voice belongs to UTC Challenger STEM Learning Center Mission Cmdr. Bruce Howard who appeared on-screen to give commands. Then, LMS seventh-grade math and science students moved into position in their respective teams – engineering, geology, hydrology and rapid response – to begin solving problems using computers, charts and maps.
“There was an [mock] earthquake along the Tennessee River. Students have to respond to it,” explained LMS teacher Emily Harrison. “It teaches them how to problem solve and think through it.”
The teams transmitted real-time data from the Chickamauga, Watts Bar and Fort Loudoun dams and looked at the flow of water and erosion.