Students got to experience a very STEM-y Christmas Monday night at Bobby Ray Elementary School. Pre-K through 5th-grade kids got to experiment with a variety of Christmas-themed learning activities. For those brave enough to venture out in the plummeting temperatures, a lot of learning disguised as Christmas fun was on offer.
STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math. Placing an emphasis on innovation, problem-solving and critical thinking, these subjects make up a popular and fast-growing industry. Most STEM workers use computers and other technology in their day-to-day jobs.
With this in mind, STEM teacher Marsha Riggs organized the event along with help from other staff at the school. Riggs said, “It’s our first STEM night here right before the Christmas holidays, so our turnout, combined with the cold, might not be as much as we hoped. But we’ve worked hard to give the kids a good choice of events.” Riggs is an itinerant teacher also taking STEM to Hickory Creek and Irving College schools.
From making borax ornaments with hot plates to designing a shelf for the elf, students and parents got to share some afterschool science magic with staff from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mom Lindsay Madewell and her daughter Stella were excited to make their borax ornaments together. Using pipe cleaners, the mom and daughter duo made pre-designs for their ornaments. Riggs and Response to Intervention (RTI) teacher Lisa Bell worked closely with students and their parents to make the ornaments which used borax and hot plates among other ingredients.
Next door, kids made Santa parachutes. Landree Ezell and Avery Tate compared their Santa parachutes and the way they fell to their targeted area. Using tape, buttons and cups, the girls enjoyed the challenge. Landree was super excited as she went from station to station trying the different activities. “I love school because you get to learn new things,” she said as she tweaked her parachute design to perfect its landing speed.
Principal Monti Hillis played elfish hostess to the event, laughing and engaging with students and staff as she went from station to station. From her perspective, the event combines a love of learning with the joys of Christmas, all just in time for the holiday break.
Stacking peppermints to make a candy tower was a lot of fun for brothers Landon and Michael James Acker. Nyla Millraney laughed as her tower went higher and higher. Michael James or “M.J.” was motivated to out stack his brother with the peppermints, but to no avail. Nothing like a little sibling rivalry to promote math and engineering.
Hillis showed the way to the M&M stratification room. ESL teacher Tracy Walkup helped Tiana and Armani Blair follow directions as they made designs with M&M’s using water and paper plates. Tiana showed her pretty Christmas design and marveled at the way the candies melted, making pretty swirls in the water. Her brother Armani half submerged some of his red and green M&M’s. The siblings practiced their powers of observation while brushing up their artistic talents.
In the library, students participated in a robot challenge which required them to develop their robotics and computer skills. Using their tablets to give commands, students had to master moving ornaments to the right location. “Hello, Thatcher!” Ms. Hillis exclaimed as he stretched out on the library carpet. He carefully commanded his robot to place the ornaments in the right location on the taped down Christmas tree floor patterns. He and his mom Emery Johnson and sister LaShay were rewarded with marshmallows after they completed their tasks.
The experiments were laid out in various locations around the school. Some of the other activities included making flying reindeer and the tallest tree challenge. Tuesday was the last day of the first semester for Bobby Ray Elementary and all Warren County Public Schools. Schools will return from their two-week holiday break Jan. 4.
