ONTARIO — Daulton Dials pressed the button, triggering a surge of air up a small blue pipe.
At the top of a homemade ramp, a pneumatic arm shot forward, sending an orange ping pong ball rolling down the track. When it reached the end, it fell off onto a bat, programmed to knock it up in the air at just the right moment.
Dials built the system along with his classmates Daycee Scholotterer and Mitchell Ye as part of a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) project at Ontario High School. The project incorporated pneumatics, light sensors and a program written by the students.
The hands-on project is just one example of an increased emphasis on project-based learning and STEM at Ontario, bolstered by a $642,849 grant from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
Students practice their programming and pneumatic skills in a high school technology class. 
Ontario Supt. Keith Strickler demonstrates the movable arm of a Fanuc robot in the high school STEM lab. 
Students work on an assignment in the Ontario Middle School STEM lab. 
Students use a circuit trainer to measure electric currents, voltage and resistance in an 8th grade STEM class at Ontario Middle School. 
Students use a circuit trainer to measure electric currents, voltage and resistance in an 8th grade STEM class at Ontario Middle School. 
Students use a circuit trainer to measure electric currents, voltage and resistance in an 8th grade STEM class at Ontario Middle School.
The grant, which Ontario received in the spring, allowed the district to significantly upgrade its middle and high school STEM labs.
Strickler estimated that about $500,000 of the grant was used to purchase equipment, curriculum and programs.
The school district chipped in some of its permanent improvement money to give the labs a facelift with new flooring, paint and STEM-themed decor.
“When the kids walk in the room, we want them to know that this is something different — this is something special that they’re going to get to do in here,” Strickler said.
The advancements have even gained Ontario national attention.
“We’ve got so many schools coming in to see what we’ve been doing,” Strickler said.
“We have two schools from Texas flying in and one from Colorado. We’re doing something that’s really a world class education.”
New course offerings
Ontario has added four new courses at the high school to maximize the use of the upgraded labs: introduction to mechatronics, introduction to industrial control systems, robot operations and programming and introduction to industrial Internet of things.
High schoolers will also be able to earn the following industry-recognized credentials from the Smart Automation Certification Alliance:
- Basic Operations
- Electrical Systems 1
- Electric Motor Control Systems 1
- Motor Control Systems
- Sensor Logic Systems 1
- Programmable Controller Systems 1
- Pneumatic Systems 1
- Mechanical Power Systems 1
- Industry 4.0 TPM
- Smart Sensor and Identification Systems 1
- Smart Factory Systems 1
- Robot System Operations 1
- Robot Systems Integration 1
- Smart Manufacturing Fundamentals 1
- Hydraulic Systems 1
Strickler said the experience and credentials will give students a leg up, regardless of whether they want to go to college or directly enter the workforce.
At the middle school, a former STEM/computer lab has been outfitted with movable workstations. In an eighth grade STEM class, students use electrical circuit trainers to test voltage, currents and electric resistance.
Another trainer simulates electronic communication with microwave transmitters. Students can bounce waves off of tiny satellites and take readings to calculate signal loss.
In yet another corner of the room, there’s a structure the size of a dollhouse. But instead of furniture and dolls, there are slots to insert different types of insulation, tiny solar panels and an overhead lamp to simulate the sun.
An auto circuitry training board comes with a computer that inserts “faults” into a model vehicle’s electrical system so students can practice diagnosing problems with a multimeter.
‘This is the lab I’ve always wanted to have’
Every edge of the middle school lab has something different. Supt. Keith Strickler, a former middle school STEM teacher, said that’s by design.
The goal is to expose students to a broad range of career paths in the world of STEM.
“This is the lab that I’ve always wanted to have,” he said.
“If I could design my own lab on what I feel a what a middle school STEM lab should be — this is it right here.”
A graphic on the lab wall outlines seven STEM career clusters: manufacturing, construction, health and biomedical, information technology, transportation, logistics and supply chain and agriculture.
“It’s all about grabbing their attention and making things fun and interesting and introducing them to careers and opportunities that otherwise they would never know about, then providing a pathway as part of the big picture,” Strickler said.
The high school lab includes more advanced machinery that’s similar, if not the same as, what’s being used by local manufacturers.
Students start with simpler machines and virtual trainers, then work their way up to the more complex equipment in advanced courses.
“It’s obvious that Ontario is putting the work in, building the relationships they need to build so that they know what’s coming with our employers, what our employers needs are going to be,” said Clint Knight, director of workforce development for the Richland Area Chamber.
“They’re making moves to acquire the equipment that computer programs and technology that’s going to be fascinating to students, but directly relates to the industry so that it’s applicable once they graduate.”
Knight said it’s important for employers to build such relationship with area school districts — regardless of what industry they’re in.
“That really helps (the schools) build the programs, because that’s what they’re working to do — prepare the young people to be successful in our economic community,” he said.
