The Holliday Heine STEM Institute
The Holliday Heine STEM Institute at Roland Park Country School strives to foster within girls the attitudes, cognitive skills, and academic foundations to investigate intellectually rigorous problems in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Our goal is to produce young women with the confidence, passion, persistence, and curiosity to explore the empirical world and to develop innovative habits of mind. Engaging in a problem-based curriculum, students of the Holliday Heine STEM Institute learn to plan research projects, work with others, synthesize new knowledge, generate novel solutions, and communicate effectively about their results. Participants develop the necessary ethical, analytical, and creative reasoning skills to pursue interests in and to prepare for careers in the STEM disciplines.
Core Course Descriptions
The core of the Holliday Heine STEM Institute program consists of a series of seminars that start in the 9th grade spring semester and are taken in sequential order. These courses teach a collection of unique skill sets within specific STEM fields that complement the regular scope & sequence of the RPCS math and science programs. All courses employ differentiated instruction to meet the academic needs of students with prior STEM experience, as well as those of the novice researcher.
Students interested in pursuing the full STEM Certificate apply to enroll in the program in their 9th grade year. Graduates of the Institute will be expected to take all three seminars: STEM I in 9th grade, STEM II in 10th grade, and STEM III in 11th grade, and develop a final portfolio of major work completed. During the summer before their senior year, students will participate in a summer fellowship outside of RPCS to explore a STEM field of their choosing. Students will also be required to take additional classes to demonstrate their STEM interests by selecting classes in computer science, statistics or engineering, and science, either through electives or advanced placement courses.
STEM I: Robotics and Programming
This course is an introduction to the STEM Institute, with a focus on the foundational elements of engineering and computer science. Students will explore the role of robots and automation in various fields, including medicine, industry and machine learning. Students will have hands-on experience in the construction of robots and the programming of sensor-rich components for design projects. Students will further explore artificial intelligence and computer vision tools, culminating in a final project with AI integration.
STEM II: Scientific Modeling and Data Science
This STEM Institute course introduces students to the process of scientific investigation and statistical modeling with technology. Students will learn to write basic software programs to model different natural phenomena, complete a scientific investigation, and evaluate scientific literature. They will learn to use statistics to interpret results. The class will also delve into the field of data science to explore, analyze, and model data sets and create data visualization displays with professional statistical tools.
STEM III: Material Science and Engineering
In this culminating STEM seminar, students are introduced to how the disciplines of science and engineering are integrated with one another. They will explore material science and environmental impact to develop a novel sunscreen formula and the package to contain it for retail purposes. Students will learn how to develop an engineering research proposal and they will create a prototype product to test for quality control. All students will investigate a final project with a focus on sustainable design.
STEM Fellowship
The STEM Fellowship opens not only minds and doors, but also fields of possibility in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Taking place during the summer between sophomore and junior year OR junior and senior year, students select a topic, whether it is career-based or centered on an interest/passion in a STEM field, that they would like to explore further and to engage in an authentic, real-world opportunity. Students build toward that experience through significant research and reflection, in consultation with the STEM Director and on-site mentor. The 80-hour on-site experience will be followed by the creation or execution of a project, the details of which will be developed as part of that process of reflection and consultation.
Program Spotlights
Slide
Trip to Johns Hopkins University Biomedical Engineering Lab
The students in our Biomedical Engineering class visit Johns Hopkins University to meet with the professor and team they work with over the semester. This class is taught by JHU professors to a select group of RPCS juniors and seniors asynchronously. Students complete college-level work as they are introduced to engineering and problem-solving techniques.
Slide
Robotics Team Champions
The Upper School Robotics Team, which started as a club and is now a class in our STEM curriculum, has been winning awards since their first year as a formal team in 2023!
Slide
Summer Showcase Speaker: STEM Fellowship
At this year's Summer Showcase, Cate R., 2025 presented a keynote speech about her STEM summer fellowship experience working with Vectech, where she worked alongside researches who study solutions for vector-borne diseases, agriculture loss, and economic loss due to insects. Learn more about our STEM fellowships.
