Middle school students are finishing their game projects. Testing and improving and a little redesigning is happening.
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The middle school students were given the challenge to create and build a toy or game with moving parts. They are diving into the challenge.
On Saturday, some of our Rising Stars went to a team training in Waterford. They attended several different workshops. In one, they worked with another partial team to create a quick tower with paper (no tape). They used the folding trick they learned during last weeks DI meeting! In the instant challenge workshop, they had to build a structure that went under AND over the "bridge" without touching it. They earned extra points because their structure could also hold all the weights. We had a lot of fun and are so excited about the upcoming season! Our DI Lite Rising Stars group has kicked off and is up to the challenges their Managers are tossing their way. Today they had to create a bridge over "water" that would allow a "boat" to go under and that would span a distance longer than a pencil. They did a great job meeting the challenge. They learned how triangles are stronger than flat paper...they are so strong that cardboard is full of triangles!
The first graders designed, created and presented their own Thanksgiving Day Parade Floats. They came to the MakerSpace with their designs drawn and used our STEM time and MakerSpace materials to make their creations. When they finished, they presented their holiday floats to their peers. The second graders have been helping me explore and then create challenges for themselves and their peers in the MakerSpace. Some of the challenges they thought up and some were inspired by how they play with the materials and the conversations I overhear. I love the problem solving and teamwork that goes on in this wonderful space.
The Keva Planks are appealing to all ages. The narrow cut blocks stack with surprising stability and challenge the students to try more complex designs. The third graders worked collaboratively on an entire city.
Have you ever noticed that the older a child is, the more sophisticated the “play”. Last Thursday we had a brief school wide power outage-right at the end of the 5th grade's STEM class...right as I asked them to save their complete or nearly completed Excel projects. Today we tried to open them. Most didn’t have all their hard work updated and some were completely corrupted frustrating everyone. So what did we do when we were thrown a curve-ball-we had an unplanned session in the MakerSpace. I love watching how the 5th graders used many of the materials that the littlest kids use. I love their discussions, collaborations, and complex projects. I especially loved the smiles on their faces. |
AuthorI'm Mrs. G - and we're doing great things in the ECA STEM program this year! Categories
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February 2018
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