Kristin Stuby of New Tripoli has earned the Da Vinci Science Center’s Teacher Excellence Award.

The award, which includes a free Da Vinci Science Center field trip or traveling science program valued up to $1,000, is given annually to educators in kindergarten through grade 12 who “inspire enthusiasm for science with innovative approaches.”

Stuby teaches engineering courses at Liberty High School, Bethlehem.

“I teach Project Lead the Way engineering courses,” she said. “These include introduction to engineering design, principles of engineering, and engineering design and development.”

Students examine the design process, computer aided 3D modeling and robotics among other topics, but her school day does not end when the last bell rings.

Stuby consistently looks for ways to involve her students in the community through field trips, in after-school programs on robotics, and in writing grants to support STEM projects.

She has been instrumental in seeking out grants, developing programs and establishing relationships with community businesses that support her engineering curriculum.

“My desire for students is that they find their passion and purpose within a STEM field and understand what lies beyond Liberty High School,” she said.

Stuby is an unabashed cheerleader for STEM education.

“Since I started my teaching career, I consistently incorporate STEM activities into my classroom,” Stuby said. “I have always considered science as the vehicle that connects math to our lives.

“Mathematics describes and makes sense of the science, the technology, and the engineering we experience daily.”

Stuby’s career as a mechanical engineer came about because of her love of math and science and her desire to connect the two.

“As a result, when I became a teacher, it was natural for me to bring that connection into the classroom,” Stuby explained.

Stuby has been teaching in the Bethlehem Area School District 14 years.

“I taught almost five years at Broughal Middle School on the south side of Bethlehem and the last 10 years at Liberty High School as a math teacher,” she said. “I started teaching engineering courses six years ago.”

At Broughal, she had the opportunity to work both with Lehigh University through a National Science Foundation grant and with NASA.

These days, an understanding of science cannot be sidelined.

“Research skills, the ability to understand how COVID-19 spreads, and learning the biological mechanisms behind the virus are all important STEM skills that our scientists need to develop a cure [and or a] vaccine,” Stuby said. “The ability to understand and apply the statistical math associated with a spread of a disease will dictate how and when to close down and social distance and how and when to open up and relax the restrictions, so we don’t overwhelm our health system.”

The Da Vinci Science Center also offers a STEM Leadership Award, and the New Educator Excellence Award.

The awards were to be presented at an annual black tied gala which was canceled because of the pandemic.

The annual Hall of Fame Awards Gala also serves as a fundraiser for the center.

The Da Vinci Science Center offers interactive experiences for children in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.