To celebrate the upcoming launch of the Utah Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) 
Bus, the Broadband Outreach Center recently did an analysis of residential broadband coverage in each of the state’s 41 school districts. In this month’s maps, the percentage of addressed properties with 3 levels of residential broadband service, is shown for each school district (see summary table also).
The broadband speeds used for the analysis are the maximum advertised download speeds from the services areas reported by providers for Fall 2016. The Utah STEM Bus, or USB, is a mobile classroom that travels to schools and other organizations to provide hands-on STEM educational experiences in their classrooms and on the bus. The initial curriculum will introduce students to topics such as robotics, 3D printing, renewable energy, video game design and computer programming.
Schools in both urban and rural Utah will be able to sign up to have the bus visit their school for a week to allow students to immerse themselves in interactive STEM instruction. Students in first through third grade will participate in half hour sessions and older students (fourth through twelfth grade) will have four hours of classroom instruction.
The bus was made possible thanks to a $1.5 million grant from Tesoro. As part of the project, the STEM Action Center is transforming two Utah Transit Authority buses to create the mobile classrooms.
To have the bus visit your area, or to see where the bus is heading, check the STEM Action Center website where details will be posted within the next few weeks.