SOUTH POINT — Tri-State STEM+M Early College High School was awarded with substantial project funding from the Ohio STEM Learning Network Classroom Grant Program.

Being awarded funding for all four applications, TSS will receive $5,000 for each project starting next semester.

The four projects are:

• Expanding the relationship between TSS and the Huntington Reptile House and Rescue, as they continue their work of building the region’s first fully accredited zoo, as TSS students build automated habitat control systems for exotic animals, and apply new technologies for better animal care.

• In light of TSS’s successfully musical theater program, the new project will be further uniting STEM efforts with fine arts by developing a special effects workshop to make 3-D printed props, programmable reactive lighting effects and other ways to enhance performance.

• The school will develop a greenhouse and hydroponics system to further our students’ learning in biology and environmental sciences. Our goal is to further integrate with agriscience in the area, and bring cutting edge technical skills to farms.

• TSS will be developing more student-led IT experiences as its new project will fully outfit an electronics workshop for computer repair and other IT work.

In addition to the application of these projects to classroom learning, all grant-funded projects have an entrepreneurship component to help develop student-run businesses that can help these become self-funding in the future.