Margaret Donnelly O'Connor Center (MDOC)
STEM Sessions
The 30+ elementary school and middle school students who come to the Margaret Donnelly O’Connor Center live in the Ethel R. Lawrence Homes, an affordable housing complex. This was the first location where the STEMpower Network ran its STEM sessions, starting in February 2023. Coding clubs were first run here as a form of STEM exposure, but this transitioned into these STEM sessions in an effort to make the programs more hands-on for the children.
Makerspace
The initial STEM sessions were a massive hit with the students of the Ethel R. Lawrence Homes, so over the summer, Deven Butani built a makerspace at the MDOC center as an extension of the STEM sessions. A makerspace is a space or a room filled with a variety of materials, such as marbles, legos, pipe cleaners, craft sticks, or other recyclable materials. This allows students to make virtually whatever they want and gives them more creativity and freedom in their projects. The center was opened with an opening ceremony in October 2023. A year later, new funding was acquired from the township to be used for more advanced technology, such as Sphero robots and a 3D printer.