Thanks to a State Earmark Grant awarded to Memorial Elementary School in the spring of 2026, we have officially opened the doors to a repurposed room for the  Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity (CIRC 2.0)

This dedicated space brings hands-on, career-focused learning straight to our youngest students, fostering the critical thinking, teamwork, and curiosity they need to thrive. To bring this vision to life, we transformed our former stage into a state-of-the-art, dual-function learning lab. Built specifically for collaborative work and creative exploration, the new space features:

A new sound-dampening collapsible wall lets teachers split the room into two quiet instructional spaces or open it up for big team projects. Comfortable rugs, versatile stools, and mobile storage cabinets make floor-based, group problem-solving cozy and engaging. High-definition displays bring visual coding, digital storytelling, and interactive media directly to life. Students use pocket-sized Ozbots to learn foundational computer science, color-coded logic, and sequence design—frequently through hands-on, screen-free coding! Electric pianos and interactive audio tools give students room to explore sound composition.

We were delighted to welcome families and community members into the new CIRC space during our September Open House, where students proudly demonstrated their coding skills and showed off the new equipment.

We look forward to seeing all the extraordinary projects, creative ideas, and discoveries our students will build in the CIRC Center throughout the school year!