Horace Maynard Middle School (HMMS) received a grant of $2,500 from the Tennessee Valley Authority, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated for a STEM (science, technology, education, and math) education project.

Blaise Pascal once said, “The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing… We know truth, not only by reason, but also by the heart.”

Pascal was a genius and a genuine polymath who lived in the 17th century. To cover his accomplishments and body of work would require volumes, which have already been written. I want to focus on the concept he so poetically illustrated above – the ever-present battle between the head and the heart. Specifically,

Calling students and teachers for an all-expenses-paid summer learning opportunity! Each summer, Appalachian students and teachers join award-winning scientists at Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to conduct research projects focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Many participants come from Appalachia’s most economically distressed counties and often gain their first major exposure to applied science and STEM education in Oak Ridge.