Inspiring students to explore math and science is vital to our country’s long-term success. ORAU believes that teachers who do this well should be celebrated and supported. That’s the motivation behind ORAU’s annual Extreme Classroom Makeover competition. The 2025 grand prize winner is Abby Rase, the science department chair and biology, anatomy/physiology teacher at Halls High School.
ORAU reviewed dozens of applications from educators around East Tennessee who were vying for $25,000 to improve the technology in their classrooms. The Halls High science teacher’s application and video submission stood out because she cleverly played off the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” television show theme.
“The science laboratory is one of the most exciting parts of being in high school,” Rase explained in her application video. “It’s where students get to explore the wonders of life. They get to conduct cool experiments and ask big questions like, ‘how does DNA work?’ and ‘what’s in a drop of pond water?’ Science evolves really fast. We’re constantly getting new information and new updates, but that can leave our science laboratories pretty outdated with broken, old equipment. Sometimes the things that are supposed to be inspiring our students can end up frustrating them instead.”
ORAU surprised Rase with the announcement that she won the grand prize of $25,000 for new lab technology and equipment on Monday, March 10, 2025, in a ruse where her principal asked her to help a fellow teacher. As Rase entered the lab where she was to “help,” she was met with balloons, television cameras, about 80 of her students and a $25,000 check.
Rase’s application cites cracked microscope lenses, broken and inaccurate tools, and a potential lab oven fire hazard as impediments to student learning. If selected as the grand prize winner, Rase said she planned to purchase digital microscopes, water distillers, micropipettes, a PCR machine (that is, a laboratory instrument that amplifies DNA), digital pH meters and a new lab oven.
With modern technology and equipment for students, Rase believes Halls High School will soon be able to offer more specialized courses like microbiology, marine ecology, and botany-zoology, which she says will attract more students to science. Currently, there are approximately 900 students enrolled in science classes at Halls High each semester.
“This isn’t just about the shiny gadgets. This is about helping students get the tools they need to conduct experiments, to explore and to picture themselves in a future of biological sciences,” Rase wrote in her application.
Craig Layman, ORAU senior director of STEM Workforce Development, was on-hand with an over-sized check to surprise and thank Rase for her dedication to inspiring the next generation to love STEM.
“Excitement is infectious. We want to support Ms. Rase and her mission to attract more young men and women into STEM fields,” Layman said. “This $25,000 check should go a long way to help her biology lab transform into a modern and engaging center for education.”
The Extreme Classroom Makeover runner-up and viewers’ choice award winner will be announced soon.
ORAU started the Extreme Classroom Makeover program 16 years ago as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to strengthen STEM education throughout East Tennessee. Since then, ORAU has awarded more than $500,000 to more than 30 East Tennessee schools.
STEM educators who teach third through tenth grade students and work for a public school within 50 miles of Oak Ridge are eligible to apply. Applicants are asked to submit a video that creatively explains their need for technology in the classroom and how this equipment will improve the educational experience of their students.