STEM Clusters Take Two

For our second round of STEM Clusters, this time for our K-1 students, I have decided, instead of a “quick glimpse” approach, I would spend a full period in each of the 8 sessions. For our youngest students the choices are the following:

Bee Bot Robots

Not a Box

How High, How Far, How Fast

Take It Apart Party

Makey Makey

Legos

Last week I shared my time with our K/1 students participating in “Bee Bots.” Students programmed the little “Bee Bots” or mini Bees acting as a computerized robots, to spell a word through their movements, or move to a programmed destination like a waterfall or a volcano. Students needed to plan out each move, indicate how many spaces, as well as when to turn; they then inputted their plan into the Bee Bot, and watched to see if they were accurate. It was a trial and error process.  Students were also given time to experiment with the Bee Bot App. I wish I had been exposed to introductory programing as a 5 year old!

Not a Box was my destination this week. In this cluster session students were creating and designing anything they wanted from boxes. They were charged with using their imagination, sketching out a design, gathering materials and then coming up with a product. They had plastic saws and hinges to guide the construction; many worked in pairs to problem solve and collaborate. By the end of the session we had: a marble maze, a dressing table and closet, the San Francisco Bay Bridge, and a Shark with all of its parts!  Another afternoon of creativity, design thinking, and play!