When you picture scientists at Vanderbilt University, toddlers might not be the first people who come to mind. But at the Susan Gray School, they absolutely do.

Nestled within Vanderbilt’s Peabody College, the school has launched an innovative STEM laboratory where children as young as one year old explore science, technology, engineering, and math through hands-on, sensory-rich experiences. Here, STEM isn’t a future goal—it’s happening now, in miniature lab coats and tiny sneakers.

A Lab for the Littlest Learners

“Our children are natural scientists,” says Katherine Newman, director of the Susan Gray School. “The STEM lab offers children of all abilities the opportunity to explore cause and effect by manipulating objects and the environment within these interactive centers.”

And “interactive” is no understatement. The lab features:

• Microscopes and telescopes to explore the micro and the cosmic
• A wind tunnel for budding atmospheric scientists
• An earthquake table for structural experimentation
• Coding robots and color-coded logic boards
• A water table for testing buoyancy—and soon, a museum-grade version to explore hydrodynamics

Here, preschoolers ages 1 to 5 are invited to tinker with technology, build earthquake-resistant towers, and investigate the natural world—setting a new standard for what STEM learning can look like in early education.

Powering Inclusive Learning

Newman says part of what makes the Susan Gray School’s lab unique is its commitment to inclusion. Children with and without disabilities learn side by side, guided by developmental specialists and early childhood educators. It’s a research-based model that integrates learning and equity from the start.

“We also work with about 200 families across Davidson County,” she explains. “We’re planning to invite them to do their developmental therapy in the STEM lab. We’ll welcome classes from The Acorn School at Vanderbilt and students majoring in early childhood and elementary education to explore STEM teaching practices with our kids.”

This integration of community, research, and hands-on pedagogy echoes the broader mission of Peabody College—to serve all learners and prepare future educators grounded in equity and innovation.

Legacy in Action

For the lab’s design, high school students from the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV) played a crucial role, collaborating on everything from layout to the creation of a plexiglass garden box where children can watch seeds germinate and roots take hold.

“It was an insightful experience into what goes into making an inclusive and safe space for learning,” said Calista Pointer, one of the high school collaborators who is now a second-year elementary education student at Vanderbilt.

The STEM lab also honors a rich legacy. It was conceived and funded by Sharon Shields, a longtime faculty leader and former interim director of the Susan Gray School, alongside Katherine Osten, a Vanderbilt nursing alumna.

Both brought personal passion to the effort. Osten’s inspiration was her father, who built her a science lab as a child to encourage her love of STEM, while Shields has spent five decades championing education, civic engagement, and “living labs” that bring learning to life.

“Education is a debt due to future generations,” Shields said, quoting philanthropist George Peabody. “It is truly an honor to create a STEM lab that will enhance children’s learning and imaginations to see what is awe-inspiring in this wonderful world.”

Rewriting the STEM Education Timeline

The Susan Gray School’s new lab prompts a bigger question: What if STEM education didn’t begin in middle school, but in preschool? The school joins a small but growing number of early childhood STEM programs across the country—including MIT’s Early Childhood Center, the Children’s School at Carnegie Mellon, and the Early Learning Institute at the University of Washington—that are integrating STEM into children’s foundational years.

These programs all share a commitment to hands-on, inquiry-based learning. For instance, the Children’s School at Carnegie Mellon emphasizes the importance of equipping young students with skills early on. “When we give them the skills, they’re actually capable of doing a lot more than you’d think,” says Dr. Sharon Carver, who’s been running the Children’s School since 1993.

Similarly, the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) focuses on the social aspect of STEM, capitalizing on kids’ interest in social groups to boost their motivation to learn, according to co-director Andrew Meltzoff.

But what sets Susan Gray apart is how it builds on these models by embedding inclusive education, developmental therapy, and teacher training directly into the lab experience. It’s not just a space for discovery—it’s a living lab where young children, families, and future teachers learn and grow together in real time.

It’s a bold reimagining of what STEM learning can look like—one where the tiniest hands are making the biggest discoveries.