Pepco helped to cut the ribbon on a new mobile STEM lab at Melwood Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, opening the door to more hands-on learning, creative problem-solving and big ideas.  

Students jumped into coding, circuitry, engineering and robotics challenges that encouraged them to experiment, collaborate and solve problems. The school’s mobile STEM lab makes it easy to bring those interactive lessons into any classroom and turn big ideas into real experiences. 

The celebration also included a surprise for Dr. Knakia Nelson. Pepco Holdings COO Rodney Oddoye presented a $1,100 DonorsChoose contribution to Dr. Nelson, Melwood’s Special Education Chair, to help purchase school supplies for the new academic year.  

The new lab was made possible through support from Pepco, the Exelon Foundation and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. Pepco and Exelon support STEM education to help prepare the future energy workforce, and mobile labs like this give students hands-on opportunities to build the problem-solving, technology and engineering skills needed to power what comes next. 

NBC-4 stopped by to capture the ribbon cutting and students exploring the new lab. Watch the story below: