MISSION, TEXAS (Oct. 9, 2026) — Students at Raquel Cavazos Elementary are taking science beyond the textbook as The Learning Undefeated Texas Mobile STEM Lab brings hands-on learning experiences directly to their campus.
The Mobile STEM Lab gives third, fourth and fifth-grade students opportunities to explore scientific concepts through interactive challenges designed to encourage experimentation, teamwork, and problem-solving.
Principal Nelly Flores said the experience gives students another way to connect what they learn in class to the world around them.
“We are looking forward to seeing the impact that it’s going to have on our students,” Flores said. “Having that opportunity to have firsthand science experiments with circuits, with animals — all of that is going to help our students make the connection to the science that they’re learning in the classroom every day.”
A Competitive Opportunity for Cavazos Students
Bringing the Mobile STEM Lab to Cavazos Elementary did not happen overnight.
School counselor Juanita Villarreal applied for the program multiple times before the campus was selected. Flores credited Villarreal’s persistence with helping secure the experience for students.
“We want to thank Ms. Villarreal,” Flores said. “She was able to secure that after five tries. We finally got it.”
Villarreal said the Mobile STEM Lab is offered through a competitive application process and that she had been applying for several years before Cavazos was selected. She said receiving the lab is a significant opportunity for the campus.
The experience allows students to explore, experiment, and collaborate while working in small teams to solve STEM-based challenges.
Different grade levels are participating in different activities selected in advance by teachers, giving each group an experience tailored to what they are learning.
“There’s a lot of problem-solving. There’s a lot of collaboration,” Villarreal said.
Fifth-grade students, for example, are exploring circuits and using what they learn to create a working prototype. The activity gives students an opportunity to encounter scientific concepts they may not yet have reached in their regular classroom curriculum.
Turning Science Into an Experience
The Learning Undefeated Texas Mobile STEM Lab gives students an opportunity to see, test and apply scientific principles through hands-on exploration.
Rather than simply reading about a concept, students work together, test ideas and determine how to make their designs function. The process encourages curiosity, collaboration and problem-solving while helping students see how scientific concepts can be applied in real situations.
Flores said those experiences can also strengthen learning across other subjects, including math, reading and writing.
“All of them want to be professionals, and they can use all this information that they’re acquiring right now to help them in the future,” Flores said. “It’s going to make so many connections to everything that they’re doing — to their writing, to their reading, to math.”
The experience also extends beyond the students participating in the lab. Flores said teachers have an opportunity to observe different approaches to STEM instruction that they can carry into their own classrooms.
“Not only are our kids learning, but our teachers are learning,” Flores said. “That is going to make a huge impact, not just for the current kids that they have, but for the next group of kids that they get in the following school years.”
For Cavazos Elementary, the Mobile STEM Lab represents more than a special campus activity. It is an opportunity to encourage students to become curious, confident learners who are willing to ask questions, work with others and explore how scientific principles shape the world around them.
Flores said the goal is not simply academic achievement, but also helping students develop a lasting interest in learning.
“We want to make sure that our kids are growing and they’re learning,” Flores said, “more than anything, that they’re becoming lifetime learners when it comes to science.”
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