Erie Elementary School teacher Kristina Stem's classroom is alive.
A pair of budgie parakeets chirp from their cage on one side of the room and Stemmy, the bearded dragon lizard, hangs off of a branch in his cage on the other side. Despite the dozen, or so aquariums and cages that already line the room, Stem is hoping to bring some new life to her students next year.
"Having life in the room makes for a lot of teachable moments," said Stem, who is the school's science lab teacher. "Now, I want to bring an astronaut to class."