Why more school teachers are incorporating science experiments inside their classrooms

National correspondent Dan Grossman has more from Denver. That's impressive. Teachers from around the country gathered in Denver to be able to talk about the importance of engagement in school and how that not only sets kids up for success in the classroom, but in the workforce once they graduate. Let's start in the scientific method. You have a hypothesis and experiment to test it and then a conclusion. But this is a story that doesn't adhere to scientific principles. So we're going to skip the hypothesis and experiment for now and start with a conclusion that science guru Steve Spangler has known for quite some time. I never get tired of doing this. Do you see the teachers faces? It's just like kids. What Steve is talking about is STEP science, technology, engineering and math, a teaching philosophy that classroom engagement leads to connection, which leads to better outcomes both in the classroom and beyond. Oh, would you give up on the pyramid? It's the very reason Kelly Higgins is at Steve's workshop with her son Jason, both teachers from Illinois. Critical thinking and problem solving is something that in just my past five years, I've seen kids really struggle with. So by bringing more STEM activities into the classroom, it really gets the kids thinking and able to solve problems. So now watch. I'm just going to take. A 2022 study from the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation found the number of jobs that acquire substantial STEM experience has grown 34% over the last decade, but our country is having a hard time filling them. Noting the US is facing a significant need to develop adequate talent in STEM fields, interred Steve and this seminar with more than 150 educators from around the country his way of working to close that gap. Our industry has to have home grown scientists and engineers. Aerospace, defense. These people here in Colorado for example, need home grown scientists and engineers. We can't steal from another country. I'll try more solution. Take Kelly for example and the reason why she and then her son became science teachers in the 1st place. My 6th grade science teacher, Mr. Peters, I just remember his classroom behind his desk was just a wall of all sorts of science Knick knacks. And he always started the class with a hands on activity and it really got our attention. So I try to do that. When a child gives you a big hug and says best day ever, what they're really saying is you connected with me. I'm engaging. I'm giving you part of my time here to do this because I like this so much. In many ways, this seminar is an experiment unto itself, showing that classroom engagement is really just another way of leaving kids and even teachers back to life's best intrinsic motivator, passion, while solving a major issue at the same time. Dan Grossman, Scripps News, Lakewood Co.