DCS STEM Class

This week, third graders began a study of circuits and electricity. During the first part of class, students had to figure out how to light up an LED using a coin cell battery and two alligator wires. It was very exciting when the bulbs turned on when our circuits were properly completed! In the second part of our exploration, students used their alligator wires to test various materials to determine whether they conducted electricity. We found that craft sticks, magnets, string, and rubber bands did not allow electricity to flow through, but pipe cleaners did complete the circuit. Finally, students roamed the STEM lab looking for more materials that would complete the circuit when they were incorporated into it. In future explorations, we'll be working on creating circuit sculptures using conductive dough.

Despite some late-season snow, we had a great turnout on Tuesday night for our first annual Family Engineering Night. Participants rotated through 12 stations throughout the evening, each of which challenged families to build, create, and explore STEM concepts.  Check out some photos of the fun-filled evening below.  

Our third grade students spent their time in STEM class this week creating a package that would protect a single Pringle chip on its journey from our school to Mast Landing Elementary School in Freeport. In a previous lesson, we learned about package engineering and the importance of considering sustainability as we devise ways to transport products in a safe and environmentally-friendly way. As a result of this learning, a constraint in our "Ship the Chip" challenge was that packages could only contain sustainable materials, with the exception of 12 inches of masking tape. Our packages are now on their way to Freeport and the STEM teacher there will soon let us know about the efficacy of our packaging!           .        .              

Our fourth grade students have spent the past few weeks learning and experimenting with several key concepts in computer programming -- sequencing, loops, and conditionals. When coding in Scratch, we've been working to create "logical sequences" that will have the computer execute our actions in an order that makes sense and helps to tell the story of our animation. ---   Click to View a Student Sample of Loops Here's a look under the hood at the Scratch code for this project: ---

After completing their Technology Take Apart projects, students in the 7th and 8th grade spent time experimenting with LittleBits electronics and Makey Makey kits. The Makey Makey, shown below in the banana piano photo and video clips, is a tool that engages students in physical computing and offers endless possibilities for using physical items to provide input to a computer.

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.