HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology’s Dr. Emily Gordon introduced the classroom to the bookends of STEM simultaneously.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, known by its acronym STEM, is the basis for the “Spark’’ cohort at HudsonAlpha. The nonprofit in Cummings Research Park sponsors ongoing educational projects.

The Spark program, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), helps 7th- and 8th-grade students develop STEM skills, confidence and real-world lab experience.

Tuesday, students from Whitesburg and Sparkman middle schools spent the day working with HudsonAlpha scientists, conducting experiments and seeing biotech career pathways in action.

Instead of passing out beakers while learning about DNA, Dr. Cooper and other scientists passed around calculators for the session’s first demonstration.

“So, we’re gonna measure how much something changes compared to your control,’’ Gordon, who works alongside faculty investigator Dr. Sara Cooper, told the students. “You guys are gonna have to do some calculations. There’s a lot of math in science.’’

Spark is a hands-on STEM program created in partnership with Huntsville City Schools and the Madison County School System. The pilot program began last school year at Whitesburg and Sparkman Middle and will continue over the next two years at additional campuses.

Schools joining the program this year include Chapman Middle, Huntsville Junior High, Madison County Elementary, Morris Middle, McNair Middle and New Hope High School.

“This is about building experiential, authentic experiences for students in technology,’’ Kelly East, HudsonAlpha’s vice president of Educational Outreach, told the Huntsville Business Journal. “This Spark program runs during the school year as a sort of after school club.’’

HudsonAlpha educators and scientists go to participating schools for 12 days over several weeks for a couple of hours after school where students learn about DNA. The group not only learns about science and the research of DNA, but uses equipment HudsonAlpha provides that is otherwise not readily available in school classrooms.

“They do authentic research that aligns with and is part of the sciences happening here at HudsonAlpha,’’ said East, who added that sometimes, equipment is given to the school.

Tuesday, the session was part of the complimentary HudsonAlpha program Launching Aspiring Biotechnology Scientists, or LABS.

“They are testing DNA changes and trying to determine what the impact is of a particular DNA change,’’ East said. “These are the students that participated in Spark last spring.’’

LABS is also offered to high school students in grades 10-12 who aren’t involved in Spark and is available to all students in the Huntsville City and Madison County systems. Students attend on-site sessions at HudsonAlpha 12 days in the fall semester and 12 more in the spring.

HudsonAlpha provides bus transportation to and from their campuses for students who do not drive. LABS has been active for several years and is also funded by the NSF. Participating schools help choose the students who participate in HudsonAlpha’s programs.

As part of what East called a “capstone day’’ for Spark students, participants from the pilot program in the spring toured the HudsonAlpha campus, networked with scientists and received data projects they worked on during the school year.

“Part of the goal is that these students will be able to walk onto a college campus and more confidently find their way into laboratories and more experiences, that it increases confidence that hopefully puts them on a pathway to more experiences,” said East.