A group of seniors who banded together to support science and tech instruction in the Shawnee Mission School District got to see the fruits of their generosity last week.

Students from Belinder Elementary in Prairie Village visited Claridge Court Thursday to demonstrate some of the lessons they’d learned through Project Lead the Way curriculum the district had been able to purchase with the help of a gift given by Claridge Court residents in late 2015. Organized in part by former Prairie Village Mayor Roe Taliaferro and his wife Helen, the Claridge Court Living Life Fund made a gift of $42,500 to the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation, which used the funds to help implement the Project Lead the Way science, technology, engineering and math curriculum the district uses in elementary schools.

Belinder STEM teacher Robin Davis had some of her students show off the projects they had been working on, from engineering challenges like constructing a beanstalk that would allow Jack to climb as high as possible, to tracking the spread of germs, to building a cooler out of household items.

Taliaferro said after the presentation he was “blown away” by the students’ work.