Every Project Has a Story: A Year of Innovation in Haines
The 2025–2026 school year was a year of growth for T3 Alaska in Haines. What started as an after-school club meeting once a week grew into a daily class during the second semester, giving students more time to explore technology, tackle challenges, and turn their ideas into reality. T3 Coach Sam McPhetres was instrumental in supporting the students and club activities.
From the beginning, storytelling was an important part of the Haines experience. Students participated in a Holiday Exchange with Mt. Edgecumbe High School, creating ornaments that shared something meaningful about themselves. These small stories helped students connect with others across Alaska while celebrating the things that make their community unique.
As students gained more time with T3 Alaska, they explored how technology can be used to document, create, and share their ideas. Using TinkerCAD, students designed a scaled 3D model of the Haines pool. They walked around the building, collected measurements, and used those real-world details to create a digital representation of a familiar community space.
Students also explored drones, capturing aerial footage throughout Haines and the Southeast Alaska State Fairgrounds. They turned their footage into short music videos, combining technology skills with creativity and storytelling while learning how to see their community from a new perspective.
The club gained valuable guidance from a community member, Dylan Palmieri. Mr Palmieri is a programmer and he helped the students map a path to a server. It’s community partnerships like these that make T3 Alaska special, and we are grateful for the support!
A major theme throughout the year was growth mindset—learning that difficult challenges become possible with patience and persistence. Several students took on the challenge of solving a Rubik’s Cube. What started as a frustrating puzzle became an accomplishment, with one student eventually learning to solve the cube in under two minutes.
Students experienced that same growth while creating a digital map of the CIA Trails behind the school. At first, the mapping process was a bit overwhelming, and students did not know how to upload, process, or organize the images. Through practice and problem solving, they learned to use GoThru and Google Maps to create a digital trail map. Their success inspired new ideas, including mapping Battery Point Trail and the route to Tukgut Hut on Mount Ripinski.
Students also embraced storytelling through stop-motion animation, using clay and LEGO characters to create a video based on a zombie apocalypse caused by an alien invasion. Through this project, students practiced creativity, collaboration, planning, and digital media skills while bringing their story to life.
Throughout the year, Haines students demonstrated that technology is more than learning new tools—it is a way to tell stories, explore their community, and discover new interests. From 3D modeling and drone videos to trail mapping and stop-motion animation, students embraced opportunities to create and share their ideas. We are grateful for the support of the Haines community and T3 Alaska Coach Sam McPhetres, whose leadership helped make these experiences possible.