Northwest Iowa teacher takes learning on the road

Fifth grade students at North Union Community School District had the opportunity to step back in time along a “Glacial Landmark” tour of northwest Iowa, thanks to the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program.

Pennie Klepper, who teaches fifth grade at North Union in Fenton, is a three-time Iowa STEM Teacher Extern, once in 2022 with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Spirit Lake fish hatchery and twice with Dickinson County Nature Center in 2024 and 2025.

“It was not work working with these guys this summer; it was fun,” Klepper said of her experience with Dickinson County Conservation.

Bringing her experience back to her own class, Klepper and 15 of her students recently joined extern host Dickinson County Nature Center for a day exploring various glacial features in rural Dickinson County, including a kettle hole, native prairie, fen, kame and an esker.

“It almost looked like the mountains when we were in the kettle hole.” said Braylee Brown, a North Union fifth grade student.

“And the fen almost felt like flour, like wet flour,” added Owen Welbig, also a fifth grade student at North Union.

The importance of these real-world connections is not lost on extern host Danika Cox, environmental education coordinator with Dickinson County Nature Center.

“It’s good to bring in kids who don’t necessarily come to this part of Iowa,” Cox said. “They’re close, but maybe they haven't ventured outside of their county. It's cool to bring them into these spaces so they can see these really unique features right at their doorstep.”

The Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program, facilitated by the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education, places teachers in STEM workplaces over the summer.

“An Externship lets teachers become students as they learn from local experts in the field. In turn, teachers bring new knowledge and skills back to classrooms to benefit Iowa students,” said Ann Gritzner, Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program Coordinator. “Seeing the summer experience translate back to the students just reinforces the value of the externship experience.”

During her externship, Klepper worked alongside staff to plan fun and engaging summer camp activities, including a novel study for one of the nature camps that connected reading with nature exploration.

“Having her as an extern this last summer was so great,” Cox said. “We had an awesome theme that she could really partner with, and it’s perfect timing for her to implement some of those things into her classroom.”

Klepper has taken a twist on the nature center’s camp to incorporate into classroom lessons this year.

“We have been studying the biospheres, have covered the geosphere and touched on glaciers,” Klepper said. “We have been reading ‘My Side of the Mountain’ and just got done with the part where Sam takes Frightful from her nest.”

She also demonstrates the intersection of mathematics and literacy as students review fractions using the story’s vocabulary.

“I learned so much this summer and have been applying it since the first week of school,” Klepper said.

For more information visit the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program webpage. Applications for summer 2026 workplace hosts are now open! Contact Program Coordinator Ann Gritzner at ann.gritzner@iowa.gov with specific questions.