DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) – It’s the first day of school for second-grader Paige Lesane and her classmates. The critical thinkers are building a bridge over a pond in Mrs. Caroline Brickhouse’s classroom using Lego bricks.

“We wanted to build a bridge across the pond,” she said. “I found this piece of bridge and we could add more things to it.”

STEM is part of Monday’s lesson plan. Brickhouse believes in it wholeheartedly.

“With that comes design constraints, and they have to build within those constraints,” she said. “Introducing children to STEM at an early age will spark their natural curiosity about the world and science.”

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When you walk into her classroom, you can tell that she believes in the “Women in STEM” montage that hangs on her classroom wall.

“STEM is typically a male-dominated profession, so I thought it was important for the girls in our classes to know that it is for them, too,” Brickhouse said.

According to a study by the Education Resources Information Center, STEM education increases students’ interest in STEM, develops positive attitudes toward STEM, and increases their STEM motivation.

Under Durham Public Schools’ new reallocation plan, elementary school students will receive daily instruction in STEM (critical thinking), arts and world languages.

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“By being exposed to another language… and more importantly, another culture within that language, they gain the ability to be everything to everyone as they begin to move out into the world,” says headteacher James Hopkins.

It seems that the new plan will make learning fun, laying a foundation for the next generation of doctors, scientists and other success stories.

“It’s really fun,” said Lesane.