VALPARAISO — Hands-on education has been taken to a whole new level in Okaloosa County.
The STEMM Center now has a modified but functional F-100 engine in its cafeteria for students to study as they explore aspects of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.
“It’s a big deal,” said Rick Soria, who oversees the STEMM Center in Valparaiso. “We’re going to use it to the maximum.”
PHOTOS: View more photos from the unveiling »
VIDEO: View a video of the jet engine >>
The engine, which was once used in an F-15 or F-16 jet, is on loan indefinitely from Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Alabama.
It was one of three in the country previously used for recruiting, but officials thought they could put the engines to better use as educational tools, according to Senior Master Sgt. Paul Gallagher of the recruiting squadron at Maxwell-Gunter.
“We had this resource and it was very much underutilized … and we saw this opportunity here to put this in a hub for STEM education,” Gallagher said
The engine was delivered Friday morning by members of Eglin Air Force Base’s 33rd Maintenance Group, who spent several weeks preparing it for display, said Master Sgt. Richard Pyryt, who oversaw the effort.
In addition to removing the engine from the trailer it was housed in, crews had to clean it up and mount it to a base to take it to the school, he said.
It took about 15 minutes to the time they left Eglin to when they rolled it into the cafeteria.
Students were duly impressed.
“I thought it was going to be a little different,” said Chris Loffler, a sixth-grader at the STEMM Academy. “I thought it was going to be a replica.”
STEMM Academy students won’t be the only ones to reap benefits from the engine, Soria said.
He’s been getting calls from schools around Okaloosa County since its arrival was announced last week. No field trips have been scheduled yet, but Soria said they will be soon.
“We are really grateful that we were able to get this engine down here,” he said.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.