Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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AKRON, Ohio – The new Cleveland Cavaliers and Goodyear STEM lab for middle school students at Buchtel Community Learning Center was unveiled Tuesday.

The refurbished two-room lab was paid for by the Cavs and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, which have given a total of $1 million split evenly between Akron Public Schools and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to support science, technology, engineering and math programs.

Over the past two years, the partnership has provided Buchtel CLC with Legos, robots, MakerGear items, Macbooks and tablets, Cavs CEO Len Komoroski said Tuesday. The renovated lab was recently completed with new paint, flooring and furniture.

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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“We’ve worked with Goodyear and the school district to make this middle school STEM lab a great place to learn, create and innovate for students here today and for all the students who will walk through the halls of Buchtel CLC in the future,” Komoroski said.

After a ribbon-cutting ceremony, middle schoolers were able to explore the new space by operating robots, 3D printers and using green-screen technology.

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

In the gym, other students enjoyed entertainment elements from Cavs games including the Scream Team dancers, the Cavalier Girls, mascots Moondog and Sir CC, face painting, temporary tattoos and pop-a-shot games.

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Goodyear staff were in the STEM lab to show students how to design optimal and efficient tires.

“Selfishly, I’m just going to tell you, we’re kind of hoping that some of you will come work for Goodyear one day,” Laura Duda, senior vice president of global communications for Goodyear, told Buchtel students.

“Now, I don’t expect you understand how exciting tires really are right now, but they’re pretty exciting – a lot more than you think,” Duda said.

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Komoroski said team members are involved in "every aspect of STEM" at Quicken Loans Arena, naming the building maintenance engineers, members of the basketball analytics team, employees who make ice for Monsters hockey games and those who operate "Q TV" on the "Humongotron."

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“This launch is more than just a STEM lab,” Akron Public Schools Superintendent David James said. “It’s really starting to embrace you, students, at the middle school level, to start your journey.”

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Buchtel CLC Principal Nicole Hughes said endless potential exists for students in STEM fields .

“In this very space, we might have the future Katherine Johnson, the woman behind ‘Hidden Figures.’ We may have Mae Jamison, an astronaut. We may very well have Neil deGrasse-Tyson, an astrophysicist as well as a tv show host,” Hughes said. “We cannot wait to see what you can do.”

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Duda said Goodyear hopes students find the new lab to be a “place where you can learn, you can create, you can explore and most importantly, you can dream of all the possibilities that your future will bring.”

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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Robin Goist, cleveland.com

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