Menifee middle schoolers have a new learning space of innovation, exploration and learning.
Harvest Hill STEAM Academy in Menifee officially opened its newest wing for seventh and eighth graders earlier this month, a Menifee Union School District news release states.
Menifee Union School District Superintendent Jennifer Root; school board President Jackie Johansen; Menifee Mayor Bill Zimmerman; Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Marc Bommarito; and Sarah Emerson, director of creative learning for Garner Holt Education Through Imagination; are seen at a Wednesday, June 1, 2022, ribbon-cutting for the new middle school wing at Harvest Hill STEAM. Academy. (Courtesy of Josué Reyna, Menifee Union School District)
Harvest Hill STEAM Academy is seen in Menifee. (Courtesy of Josué Reyna, Menifee Union School District)
An animatronic is seen at the new Garner Holt Animaker Space at the Harvest Hill STEAM. Academy in Menifee. The new center opened in June 2022, through a partnership with the district and animatronics-maker Garner Holt Productions. (Courtesy of Josué Reyna, Menifee Union School District)
The space is dedicated to science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics learning, and boasts a new design lab for students, from the company of animatronics-builder Garner Holt, who is from San Bernardino.
The wing includes 15 new classrooms, two project rooms, a new kiln, locker rooms and outdoor patio spaces, the release states.
Today we held the official ribbon cutting ceremony at Harvest Hill STEAM Academy. We celebrated the new middle school wing as well as the new Garner Holt Animaker Space. We are excited about this amazing environment and all of the incredible learning that will take place. pic.twitter.com/aw90BB5qc7
— Menifee USD (@MenifeeUSD) June 1, 2022
A new animatronics design lab — the Garner Holt Animaker Space — results from the district’s partnership with Redlands-based organization Garner Holt Education Through Imagination, which creates animaker spaces and STEAM-focused learning programs for schools. Holt’s company, Garner Holt Productions, has built and designed hundreds of animatronic shows for Chuck E. Cheese restaurants and Disney park attractions.
The wing is part of Harvest Hill’s new two-story middle school building, which opened in August 2021. The addition also makes the academy the first and only kindergarten-through-eighth grade school in the Menifee school district.
Students programmed and showcased their class animatronics, called Spark-E’s, at a June 1 unveiling.
“I am so proud to officially open this learning space to the students,” Superintendent Jennifer Root said in the release. “The learning that will take place here will inspire students to tackle critical challenges with innovative solutions.”
