by Cori Hilsgen
news@thenewsleaders.com
Does creating towers from spaghetti and marshmallows or sticky structures from gum drops and toothpicks sound like school work to you?
It was for students at Kennedy Community School. They had a chance to study and learn about new science, technology, engineering, art and math innovations and recently had a chance to explore more options in these fields of study during National STEM/STEAM Day Nov. 8.
Students in kindergarten through fifth grade focused on the engineering part of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by being taught grade-level-specific engineering-design challenges by sixth-grade scientists.
The sixth-grade scientists are students in Kennedy grades sixth- through eighth-grade science teacher Alissa Keil’s classroom who have been studying, learning and practicing the scientific method.
These students have been doing several engineering-design challenges, such as exploring the frozen wonders of snow and learning about its properties and much more in science classes.
“Working with the students in kindergarten was really fun because it showed me kindergarteners can be engineers too,” said sixth-grader Elise Hausmann. “It showed me how creative they can be.”
Keil, who is also the Team Kennedy VEX Robotics coach, said they want all students to get excited about science, technology, engineering and math.
“Learning collaboratively with hands-on experiments they design motivates students to want to know more,” Keil said. “It’s also a great way to get kids talking about STEM and just how darn cool it really is.”
Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students listened Nov. 8 to STEM guest speakers from the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.
The speakers from around the country included an aerospace engineer, anthropologist, civil engineer, computer engineer, doctor, food scientist, mechanical engineer, robotics engineer and systems engineer.
“Something I liked about the STEM speakers we had was they inspired me to try something new,” said sixth-grader Ethan Duncan. “We heard from a wind-tunnel engineer. I never knew a wind-tunnel test would take one day or sometimes one month. She said she used math every day. It was cool.”
“I loved the STEM speaker we had in math,” said sixth-grader Lilli Midy. “Not because we didn’t do our math, but because we actually got to talk to an engineer and find out what they do.”
The speakers virtually visited classrooms to talk to students about their current career, where they attended college/university and what subjects and hobbies they enjoyed when they were in middle school. They offered advice to students who want to learn more about science, technology, engineering and math.
“We want to motivate middle-school students because they will be the people who are inventing new ways to clean water, take the first steps on Mars and find a cure for cancer,” Keil said. “Let’s get them thinking now about exploring a career in STEM and finding ways to help our world.”
National STEM/STEAM Day is meant to inspire kids to explore and pursue their interest in these fields.
Advocates of the program say some of the fastest-growing occupations include STEM/STEAM careers, so early interest in these careers can lead to future success in a global world. To help close the gender gap that exists in these career fields, they maintain, it will become especially important to encourage girls to develop an interest in these fields.
Kennedy Community School third-graders work on an engineering design challenge given to them by sixth-grade scientists to create a structure using tiny glasses during National STEM/STEAM day.
Kennedy Community School second-graders work on an engineering design challenge given to them by sixth-grade scientists to create a spider web using dental floss, masking tape and black paper during National STEM/STEAM day.
Kennedy Community School fourth-graders work on an engineering design challenge given to them by sixth-grade scientists to create the tallest free-standing tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows.
Stacy Moller, a water chemist from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas speaks about water filtration to Kennedy Community School students in Amy Koltes’ and Laura Freese’s math class during National STEM/STEAM day Nov. 8.
Kennedy Community School first-graders work on an engineering design challenge given to them by sixth-grade scientists, to create sticky structures from gum drops and toothpicks during National STEM/STEAM day.
Kennedy Community School fifth-graders work on an engineering design challenge given to them by sixth-grade scientists to create a working catapult that would launch candy corn the farthest during National STEM/STEAM day.
