A few weeks ago, students in the after school STEM program at Brown Elementary learned all about weather, and we finally finished a display to showcase their work. Third graders made kites, second graders made weather vanes, and our kindergarteners colored compasses. Some students took their creations home, but a few were kind enough to let us put their masterpieces on display for a little while! Now, whoever walks into the school will see what they've created and hopefully learn a little bit about the weather while they're at it. I'm so proud of these kids and the work we're able to accomplish, even when it's been a long day at school and they just want to go home or run around on the playground.
After finishing up the display, I had the chance to work on an activity for our second graders for next week. I created an "ocean floor" by taping objects to the bottom of a box on a grid. The lid has the same coordinate grid taped to the top. Kids will insert a ruler through holes in the box to see how far down the ruler goes, similar to how submarines and whales send out sonar waves to see how far away the ocean floor is.
Not only will they learn about how sonar technology works, but they'll learn valuable skills about how to collect data and analyze it. I'm looking forward to it--even if they'd rather just open the box to see what's inside instead of using our "sonar technology" (kids were already asking to see inside the box as I was poking the holes).
Can't wait for next week at Brown's STEM Lab!
-A. Judge
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