This week, kindergarten classes learned about skyscrapers and the two major challenges architects and engineers face when designing and building these tall structures -- creating a sturdy foundation that can support the weight of the structure and developing a design that takes into account strong wind. In the lab, students built their own skyscrapers and then tested their resilience against a stream of "wind" from a hair dryer. In the process, students also practiced our STEM mindset of digging into mistakes and using information from a failed attempt to improve their designs.
Several times each year, our school specialist team works together to create integrated units of study, where students explore a common theme through each of our content areas -- art, music, library/multimedia, PE, and STEM. Our 7th and 8th graders recently completed a Winter Carnival themed unit, where they worked on creating products or performances to showcase during a special carnival event for students in grades PK-2. In STEM class, students designed, built, and improved automata, which are mechanical devices that generate motion through a series of spinning cams, axles, and cam followers. Image Source: Adafruit The following success criteria guided the work for our 7th & 8th grade students: The automata must have a winter theme. The automata must feature at least one element that spins, goes up or down, or moves side to side. The automata design must include at least 10 different materials. Additionally, students were challenged to create a...
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