LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hulse Haley is tinkering with high-tech blocks with sensors and lights. 

“These two are sensors. This one’s a light. And this one, if you attach it to the heart, it will spin around,” Haley said, pointing toward different parts of the cube.  

Haley is currently building a lighthouse. The Middletown Elementary School third grader says building gives him a bit of freedom. 

“It just makes me excited that I can make all these different kinds of like, not exactly art pieces, like pieces of, you can just have fun with whatever you want to build and no one will care,” he said.

Haley and his classmates are using a hands-on approach to learn about science, technology, engineering, art and math, also referred to as STEAM subjects. 

This is one mission of the MakerPlace STEAM Carts from the Kentucky Science Center and Toyota Kentucky.   

“MakerPlace steam cart is all about empowering educators to promote that next generation of steam career professionals,” said Justin Magaw, with the Kentucky Science Center.  

The carts include robots, 3-D pens and microscopes for about 25 students to use. 

The Kentucky Science Center teaches educators how to use the equipment in the cart. 

“It’s not just the stuff, it’s what the kids are learning to do along with it, like collaboration, you’ll see communication, you’ll see that problem-solving, engineering process at work,” Magaw said. 

Haley is discovering what else he can build. 

“And I’m just seeing how like I’m doing experiments to see what we can do with them. You have to do experiments before you can do bigger things,” he said.

Over 40 schools applied to receive a MakerPlace STEAM Cart. 

An elementary school in Marion County also received a cart from the Kentucky Center and Toyota Kentucky.