STEM Family Night

Our first STEM Family Night was an evening of hands-on science, math, technology and engineering activities for students and families to complete together. Our goal is to grow the minds of our students in these areas in a way that includes a creative approach to problem solving. Families came together to learn more about why these areas are critical to the future of their students. Many jobs right now that will be growing in the future are in these areas. 

Students learned about the properties of matter as they created a lava lamp. They began by pour water and oil into a container. Next they added some food coloring to observe what happened to those three materials. To make their lava lamp explode they added an Alka Seltzer tablet that made it bubble and churn.

   

The families were able to observe our new 3D printer and watch as Riley explained how he used the TinkerCad software to create a design that was then printed on the printer. They also had an opportunity to explore some of the other technologies that we have access to in our school including playing the iPad Osmo games of Words and Numbers. A BB8 was a fun robot to try and put through a maze and we used Makey Makey's to create circuits that drove an electronic keyboard on the Chrome Books.

Much fun was had by all as they engineered a solution to who could launch a marshmallow the farthest! Families were given Popsicle sticks, rubber bands and mini-marshmallows to create a catapult to achieve this goal. It was a team effort and the students learned about the resistive properties of a rubber band.

Math games engaged everyone by encouraging them to work together to solve a problem. Some of the games included the use of Legos, while others used dice or manipulatives to complete a challenge.

 Overall, our first Family STEM Night was a success and we hope to continue this new tradition in the future!