Sister Sister STEAM camp

My sister and I have been talking for a while about wanting to do a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) camp. We decided to take a chance and create free mini morning STEAM camp on a day we had off from school for K-5 students to come make ballon cars. We were able to incorporate lots of different standards into our lesson. Here are just a few that fit with our project:

Mathematics

MP1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

MP5: Use appropriate tools strategically.

Literacy

CCSS.ELA-RL.2.3: Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

Engineering

K-2-ETSI-1: Ask questions, make observations, gather information and problem solve with development of an improved object or tool.

Science

K-PS2-1 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions: Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths of motion on an object.


Students really needed to persevere to make their cars... We talked about how it's okay if the balloon car doesn't work right away or even by the end of the camp. Students were able to try their cars out and make changes as they designed. We want to instill growth mindsets in our students so that they keep working when engaging with challenging tasks!




Here's a few videos of the finished projects in action: 

Some of them worked...

And some did not...

The important thing is we that kept trying!☺☺☺

Insect museum 2017

We had a lot of fun learning with our insect museum this year. Mrs.Wall, our high school science teacher, (and my AMAZING sister!) helped us out with fancy tubes for our critters so we were able to look at them easily under the microscope. Mr. Watkins, our tech and science teacher, helped us out with some awesome iPad gadgets to further explore. The kids were so fascinated! 



Here are a few pics from our museum where students were able to share what they learned with other classes, teachers and parents: