Trash For Teaching http://www.trashforteaching.org filling minds, instead of landfills Wed, 22 May 2013 03:52:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 South East High School Physics http://www.trashforteaching.org/south-east-high-school-physics/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/south-east-high-school-physics/#comments Sat, 18 May 2013 23:14:21 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=4422 JaguarTimesMast

Physics teacher Dustin Ancalade and his Physics students are culminating the year with our latest round of electricity & magnetism projects. Below are photos from their hands-on engineering that evolved into the “Electric House” project.

 

 

]]> http://www.trashforteaching.org/south-east-high-school-physics/feed/ 0 LAUSD Physics and Engineering PD Workshops http://www.trashforteaching.org/lausd-physics-and-engineering-pd-workshops/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/lausd-physics-and-engineering-pd-workshops/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 00:31:36 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=4320 Electricity & Magnetism Teacher Professional Development Workshop @ T4T

Teachers spent April27th at T4 in a PD workshop focused on getting ready for the Next Generation of Science Standards. Evan Dvorak and Craig Sipes facilitated the session with Electricity & Magnetism themed projects that Evan field tested in his classroom: “Electric House” & “Beats by Me”. To kick-off the headphone design project, teachers reverse engineered little speakers by dissecting them to figure out how they work and ultimately to harvest the magnets inside them for their own re-use. Special guests included LAUSD’s District Level Science Specialist Ayham Dahi and SIG office Paul Hsu, who are working behind the scenes to scale up this year’s PD workshops into a 3-day Teacher Institute.

This workshop was possible thanks to a TIIP (Teacher Initiated Inquiry Project) Grant from UCLA Center X Science Project & the physics teachers that submitted the grant: Nancy Le, Evan Dvorak, Michael Lusk, Dustin Ancalade, Eric Guarin, Shin Adachi and James Chow.

Conservation of Energy

15 physics teachers spent November 3nd at T4T in a professional development workshop focused on getting ready for the Next Generation of Science Standards. LAUSD’s District Level Science Specialist Ayham Dahi kicked off the session, and mentor teacher Craig Sipes facilitated an interactive series of hands-on projects, discussions and presentations. Communication and collaboration within the group was so energizing, that over half the teachers stayed 2+ hours after the workshop ended to complete their own Rube Goldberg contraption and amass classroom materials.


 

Momentum & Impulse

LAUSD’s District Level Science Specialist Ayham Dahi kicked off the session, and mentor teacher Craig Sipes facilitated an interactive series of hands-on projects, discussions and presentations about Impulse and Momentum. A big round of thanks to all that participated, and to those that helped make this session possible.

Waves & Conservation of Energy

Thanks to a special grant by Republic Services, 25 LAUSD physics teachers spent June 2nd at the Natural History Museum in a series of professional development workshops focused on getting ready for the Next Generation of Science Standards.

 

 

 

Click here for a complete list of Lesson Plans, Photos & Video

 

]]> http://www.trashforteaching.org/lausd-physics-and-engineering-pd-workshops/feed/ 0 Next Generation Science Symposium April http://www.trashforteaching.org/next-generation-science-symposium-april/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/next-generation-science-symposium-april/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 23:52:44 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=4311 Electricity & Magnetism

LAUSD physics teachers spent April27th at T4 in a professional development workshop focused on getting ready for the Next Generation of Science Standards.  Evan Dvorak and Craig Sipes facilitated the group with Electricity & Magnetism themed projects that Evan had piloted in his classroom: “Electric House” & “Beats by Me”. To kick-off the headphone design project, teachers reverse engineered little speakers by dissecting them to figure out how they work and ultimately to harvest the magnets inside them for their own re-use.

Special guests included LAUSD’s District Level Science Specialist Ayham Dahi and SIG office Paul Hsu, who are working behind the scenes to scale up this year’s PD workshops into a 3-day Teacher Institute.

This workshop was possible thanks to a TIIP (Teacher Initiated Inquiry Project) Grant from UCLA Center X Science Project & the physics teachers that submitted the grant: Nancy Le, Evan Dvorak, Michael Lusk, Dustin Ancalade, Eric Guarin, Shin Adachi and James Chow.

Click here for a complete list of Lesson Plans, Photos & Video

]]> http://www.trashforteaching.org/next-generation-science-symposium-april/feed/ 0 LA Unified School District’s Hands-on Science + Engineering Initiative http://www.trashforteaching.org/la-unified-school-districts-hands-on-science-engineering-initiative/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/la-unified-school-districts-hands-on-science-engineering-initiative/#comments Sun, 16 Dec 2012 23:00:11 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=3878 Initiated at the district level, science specialists and teachers are collaborating with T4T to design engaging new ways to energize classroom experiences with hands-on discovery and engineering. Pilot projects are currently underway in about 25 LAUSD high schools, and multiple elementary & middle  schools.  Thanks to a new partnership with LAUSD School Improvement Grant Office, our collaboration will be expanding to SIG middle & high schools with a 3 day Summer Institute in August.

 

HIGH SCHOOL

arrow_20SEE LESSON PLANS + READ MORE about our PHYSICS FELLOWSHIP

 

Teacher Professional Development Workshop @ T4T: Electricity & Magnetism

Teachers spent April27th focused on getting ready for the Next Generation of Science Standards. Evan Dvorak and Craig Sipes facilitated the session with 2 projects that Evan field tested in his classroom: “Electric House” & “Beats by Me”. To kick-off the headphone design project, teachers reverse engineered little speakers by dissecting them to figure out how they work and ultimately to harvest the magnets inside them for their own re-use.

 Electricity @ Jordan High School

Physics teacher Evan Dvorak culminated his Electricity Unit with a hands-on challenge to his students: design and build a functional model of your “dream house.”  Each project had to have a minimum of 2 lights in series, 3 wired in parallel, and 1 stand alone light. All had to be able to be powered from a 9V battery and have individual off and on switches (often paper clips or pennies).  All wiring work had to be submitted and approved as a diagram. The light bulbs were re-purposed from X-mas tree lights.

 

 Headphone Design @ Jordan High School

Physics teacher Evan Dvorak and students are culminating the year with an in depth study of electricity, magnetism, engineering and entrepreneurship.  Stage 1: “Reverse Engineering” means students dissected scrap speakers to build their knowledge about all the different parts and functions of a speaker.  Step 2: Students started to brainstorm ideas & make 3 rounds of functional prototypes, continually trying to improve the sound quality.  Still to come….Step 3: “Elevator Pitch” is a presentation to a “venture capitalist” prior to getting the “budget” for materials to build prototypes of the ergonomics and aesthetics of their designs.  Step 4: production and presentation of student designs.

 

Electricity @ South East High School

Physics teacher Dustin Ancalade and students are culminating the year with our latest round of electricity & magnetism projects. Below are photos from their first stage of hands-on engineering that will evolve into the “Electric House” project

Roller Coaster Engineering (Conceptual Physics) @ School for the Visual Arts & Humanities, Robert F. Kennedy Community School

Teachers Nancy Le &  Cheyanne Tran led their students through an engineering challenge to build a roller coaster that had 1 loop, 2 hills, and was designed around a cohesive theme. Students also had to create a blue print, calculate kinetic energy, and turn in a written description of the project.

Kinematics (Mouse Trap Cars) @ Washington Prep HS:

George Washington Preparatory High School is home to some inspiring hands-on science.  Physics teachers Craig Sipes, Michael Lusk, and Eric Guarin are pioneering new ways to bring the engineering design process into everyday lessons. Below are some photos of their latest projects where students were challenged to invent a vehicle that was powered the energy of releasing a mouse trap.

Teacher Professional Development Workshop @ T4T: Momentum & Impulse

LAUSD’s District Level Science Specialist Ayham Dahi kicked off the session, and mentor teacher Craig Sipes facilitated an interactive series of hands-on projects, discussions and presentations about Impulse and Momentum. A big round of thanks to all that participated, and to those that helped make this session possible.

 

Physics of Sound: Building the Band @ Washington Prep HS:

Below are some photo of the inventive instruments and discoveries students made when exploring the physics of sound using T4T materials.

Teacher Professional Development Workshop @ T4T: Conservation of Energy

15 physics teachers spent November 3nd at T4T in a professional development workshop focused on getting ready for the Next Generation of Science Standards. LAUSD’s District Level Science Specialist Ayham Dahi kicked off the session, and mentor teacher Craig Sipes facilitated an interactive series of hands-on projects, discussions and presentations. Communication and collaboration within the group was so energizing, that over half the teachers stayed 2+ hours after the workshop ended to complete their own Rube Goldberg contraption and amass classroom materials.


 

Forces & the Engineering of Energy @ Washington Prep HS:

Below are some photos of physics students’ investigations with potential and kinetic energy, mechanical advantage, momentum, and energy transfers. The culminating project was a classroom scale chain reaction that included inventive ramps,  pendulums, pulleys, collisions, dominoes, levers and much more.


 

Teacher Professional Development Workshop @ Natural History Museum: Waves & Conservation of Energy

Thanks to a special grant by Republic Services, 25 LAUSD physics teachers spent June 2nd at the Natural History Museum in a series of professional development workshops focused on getting ready for the Next Generation of Science Standards.

 

 

 

Exploring Energy @ Washington Prep HS:

Below are some photos of  students’ investigations with potential and kinetic energy in 2 different projects: “Nail-it” & “Ramp Race.”

Impulse Unit (Eggs Beware) @ Washington Prep HS:

Physics teachers Craig Sipes and his students design and carry out a test to determine the force required to break an egg.  In a follow-up class, students experiment with different T4T  materials to calculate which would best help their egg survive.  In a culminating class, students engineer and test a device (vehicle) that minimizes the force on an egg, after the device is dropped from second story balcony to collide with the ground.

Math & Science Night

Academy of Medical and Health Sciences @ Roosevelt HS hosted Math and Science Night on Jan 30th. 8 teams, 32 high school student engineers, 120 feet of invention, 2 hours of collaboration & competition! A round of applause to everyone that participated, and special thanks Yuri Lopez, Principal Crossin, all of our judges and everyone who helped with set-up and clean-up.


 

ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL

Forces and Motion @ Stephen White Middle School:

Teachers Tina Marie Perry and Carrie Jackson designed a culminating project for their Forces and Motion unit where students designed and engineered iterations of vehicles to meet different performance criteria.

NASA’s B.E.S.T. (Beginning Engineering Science & Technology) Curriculum AFTER SCHOOL with Beyond the Bell

Beyond the Bell is in the process of implementing the largest exploration of NASA’s B.E.S.T. in the country, including Elementary and Middle School sites.  Below are some photos from a facilitator training session held at T4T.

NASA’s B.E.S.T. (Beginning Engineering Science & Technology) Curriculum in the CLASSROOM

Playa Vista Elementary School teachers are piloting NASA’s B.E.S.T. with their students. Behind the scenes applause to Russ Billings, from NASA Dryden and his outreach team that conducted two professional development workshops, and a special thanks to Principal Salazar and all the participating teachers for implementing the classroom experiences.

2nd Graders as Roller Coaster Engineers @ West Hollywood Elementary School:

2nd graders transformed their auditorium into a laboratory to physically explore concepts they were learning about in science.  Students invented and engineered combinations of inclined planes, wheels and axles, levers, and energy transfers in response to a challenge to ring a bell at the opposite end of the auditorium.  A special thanks to all the parent volunteers who helped make this event possible.

 

]]> http://www.trashforteaching.org/la-unified-school-districts-hands-on-science-engineering-initiative/feed/ 0 PUSD Pilot Project: Washington Accelerated Elementary School Explores S.T.E.M. http://www.trashforteaching.org/pusd-pilot-project-washington-accelerated-elementarys-s-t-e-m-lab-2/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/pusd-pilot-project-washington-accelerated-elementarys-s-t-e-m-lab-2/#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2012 22:33:26 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=3464 Interdisciplinary Design Based Learning = Science + Technology + Engineering + Math + Language Arts

How do we facilitate next generation thinking? We are proposing a model that integrates science, math, and language arts through in-depth projects, where technology, engineering, art and even social studies can be additional layers of investigation and interconnected learning.

What would this look like?  Mentor schools like Para los Ninos (LAUSD Charter School) & the UCLA Lab School are pioneers in this exploration, and T4T materials have been an inspiring part of their work for the past 5 years.

Can this approach be shared with other schools?  T4T is project managing a pilot project to explore this paradigm in Pasadena, called “Building Foundations  for a sySTEMic Future.”  Launched Fall 2012, this an enormous collaborative venture involving a team of the most forward thinking specialists in LA: Classroom EcosySTEM Approach (Lisa Schaeffer), UCLA Center X Science Project, Para los Ninos, Pasadena Education Foundation, and most importantly Washington Accelerated Elementary School.  Thanks to a  TIIP Grant from UCLA Center X and a grant from the Riordan Foundation, this collaboration will be deepened and broadened for the 2013-2014 school year.  Below are a series of snap shots into Washington’s brand new STEM Lab, and some of the exciting spill over into classrooms.

 

Reverse Engineering: “How Does it Work?”

In preparation for their study of satellites, 1st graders came to the STEM Lab to build their curiosity by taking apart some everyday machines. (3 hole punch, simple cord, fan, key board, calculator, speaker) Students had to first dissect the machines with their eyes, their imagination, and questions.  Once they drew their observations and ideas, they were challenged to take it apart to see if they could better understand how it works by looking at what was on the inside. Students were continually heard asking one another “How does it work?” followed by “I know…”

Forces & Motion: Simple Machines

2nd Graders investigated the “how and why” behind Levers, Pulleys, Wheel/Axle, Screw & Wedge.

Stomp Rockets

Students in Ms. Aviles’ class designed and launched paper rockets as a continuation of their exploration of flight and as a transition into getting their “seeds” project into space. 5,4,3,2,1…

Parts & Functions of Plants

The five and six year olds in Ms. Aviles classroom have been studying the parts and functions of plants. Starting by dissecting the seeds, students discovered the seed coat and the embryo and learned that the seed is responsible for providing the plant with food until the leaves take over that job. Students then moved on to observing roots and through different experiences they discovered that roots have the job of transporting food and water and holding the plants in place. Following the experiences, students represented their understanding of the parts and functions of seeds and roots through sketches, clay structures and the use of recycled materials to build 3D models.

Observing like an Engineer

The second graders in Ms Green’s classroom have been investigating the structures, properties and interactions of matter. In addition, through inquiry-led discussion and rich firsthand experiences, students discovered that different materials are suited for different purposes.

SySTEMic Collaboration meetings

During the end-of-the-year SySTEMic Collaboration meeting, the Washington Accelerated teacher leaders, STEM Lab educator, Jodie West, Trash for Teaching’s Director of Programming, Shiva Mandell, and Classroom EcosySTEM’s Pedagogy Consultant, Lisa Rosenthal Schaeffer discussed the projects successes and challenges, in an effort to prepare for year 2. Photos from the beginning of the year document the “Classroom Maker” phase of the collaboration.

Engineering Bridges: “Power of Paper”

STEM specialist Jodie West & students explored Balance & Motion, as they studied why bridges are shaped differently. Culminating project is a design challenge, using only paper and tape to construct a bridge that spans a given distance, while permitting a “ship” to pass under it.  Inspired by curriculum from the  Boston Museum of Science, “Engineering is Elementary.”

Representing Light:

1st graders made a special trip to the STEM Lab so they could show off their understanding of how “Light works”.  Working in teams of 2, students built models that conveyed properties of Light, and then wrote about their representations.  Thanks Ms. Banks

Kindergarten Architecture & Engineering

Students in Ms. Aviles’ class are building their own dramatic play area, from the ground up.  Stage 1 is designing the framework for their house and writing about their ideas.

Kindergarten Aerodynamics and Language Arts

Young Engineers in Ms. Aviles’ class are exploring science, art and language arts through a student inspired investigation to make and test paper airplanes.

PASADENA LEARNS: After School with NASA B.E.S.T.

Students design, build, test, and tweak with NASA’s  Beginning Engineering Science & Technology.  Below are images of “Lunar Buggies”.

Visualizing Objects in Motion

How do you document acceleration & deceleration?  Below are some inquiry based experiments using different size/weight balls and paint.

Adding new Partners:

Tinkerer’s Corner has signed up to help outfit Washington’s STEM Lab with tools and training.   To introduce this to the STEM Lab, we worked with a small group of 3rd grade and 5th grade students analyzing, classifying, and organizing their new tools. The process was captivating & empowering for all involved, with a sense of pride for the tools and their system for how and where they would be stored.

The following session Jerry Blackburn, founder of  Tinkerer’s Corner returned to work with these same 3rd & 5th grade mentor students. The group explored wood, both in its natural state and the math/ measurement involved with “dimensional lumber”.  And then, safety goggles on, it was tool time !  Hammers, nails, clamps, screws and screw drivers were explored in relationship to the concept of  “safety” &  “mechanical advantage”.

]]> http://www.trashforteaching.org/pusd-pilot-project-washington-accelerated-elementarys-s-t-e-m-lab-2/feed/ 0 Bud Carson S.T.E.M. Academy: Pioneering Hands-on Learning http://www.trashforteaching.org/bud-carson-s-t-e-m-academy-pioneering-hands-on-learning-2/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/bud-carson-s-t-e-m-academy-pioneering-hands-on-learning-2/#comments Sun, 16 Dec 2012 00:10:36 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=3867

Teachers from BCMS STEM Academy (Hawthorne School District) are collaborating with T4T to create a variety of hands-on STEM infused experiences, ranging from Science & Engineering to History, from classroom scale to school wide events .

Thank you for your vision: Superintendent Dr. Morgan, Principal Jordan, Mr. Lanzer, Miss Hadley, Mrs. Dobyns, Ms. Ruvalcaba and the team of other teachers behind the scenes. Special thanks to Republic Services and their dedicated support for T4T in Hawthorne School District.

Trimester Challenge #2 Eco-Vehicles

March 29th 2013: working in pairs, 7th & 8th graders collaboratively designed, built, tested, redesigned, retested, and tweaked their vehicles to maximize distance.  Some designs had 4 wheels, some had more, but the winning teams came up with a 2 wheel scheme with a small “cockpit” contained in the body of the axle. Finalists from all 20 classes competed on the black top for the title of “best engineers” in their grade. Congratulations to the 7th grade duo with the vehicle that traveled further than any other at Bud Carson. Thanks to all the teachers and administration for making this happen!

Trimester Challenge #2:  Eco-Vehicles

Teachers from Bud Carson STEM Academy prepared for their second all school engineering event by building their own versions of gravity powered vehicles.  The challenge was to create a car that traveled the furthest and straightest down a ramp, carried a “cargo” plus two “passengers.”  Teachers paired up to design the best wheel/axle/body combination they could and some of their results were rather impressive, especially given the race surface was carpet.

Republic Days Trimester Challenge #1: Tower Design

Dec. 14th 2012: Challenge #1 was an environmentally themed engineering contest called “Reaching for the Sky”, where students collaboratively designed and built the tallest towers they could.  Each team started with the exact same quantity of materials.

To prepare for the all school event, BCMS teachers tested their own engineering skills and then sorted about 1,000 lbs. of materials into team bags.  Special thanks to Principal Jordan, Mr. Lanzer, Miss Hadley, Mrs. Dobyns and the team of teachers that planned the activities behind the scenes.

SEE 8 ½ x 11 FLIER ABOUT REPUBLIC DAYS

 

HANDS-ON HISTORY

Students from BCMS STEM Academy are learning  History through hands-on map making.  Ms. Ruvalcaba designed an investigation where students studied the history behind important American Battles, and then collaboratively represented their understanding of what tool place.  Troops,  geographic  features, movement, buildings, ships and strategy were noted through a collage of T4T materials, and a corresponding symbols legend.  Hands-on History with embedded layers of Math and Engineering, thanks Ms. Ruvalcaba!

]]> http://www.trashforteaching.org/bud-carson-s-t-e-m-academy-pioneering-hands-on-learning-2/feed/ 0 Green S.T.E.A.M. Lab http://www.trashforteaching.org/green-s-t-e-a-m-lab/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/green-s-t-e-a-m-lab/#comments Sat, 11 May 2013 04:05:35 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=4373 MUSE_300May 5th was an awesome day of collaboration & hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math at the MUSE School in Malibu.  8 students, ranging from Kindergarten through 5th grade worked with T4T to build the “bones” of their new S.T.E.A.M. Lab. Students, you blew us all away with your thoughtful drawings, your tenacious work with the drills & screw drivers, and your generosity & collaboration as witnessed each time you taught each other what you discovered.  I want to be a MUSE student!

May 17th, T4T returns with materials and tools to finish setting up the space with the students.  Huge thanks to Science Specialist Dr. Dijanna Figueroa for dreaming up this partnership and big appreciation for all the extra hands today: Math Coordinator Tania Hipple-Lopez & Garden Education Manager Shawn Greenbaum.

Los Angeles from the student’s perspective…

 

 

 

 

]]> http://www.trashforteaching.org/green-s-t-e-a-m-lab/feed/ 0 Compton Unified Launches with NASA + T4T http://www.trashforteaching.org/compton-unified-launches-with-nasa-t4t-2/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/compton-unified-launches-with-nasa-t4t-2/#comments Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:05:34 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=3929 Compton USDTeachers, Principals & Students from Compton Unified tested their engineering skills with NASA’s B.E.S.T. (Beginning Engineering Science and Technology) curriculum and T4T materials.  These PD workshops kick-off a district wide NASA initiative that will span from Elementary School to High School.

In the first 2 workshops, teams designed and built Lunar Buggies & balloon powered Rockets.  Elementary School Teachers from 14 different Compton Schools met at Foster Elementary to to test their engineering skills with NASA’s Beginning Engineering Science and Technology curriculum and T4T materials.  Talk about inspiring, I have never seen a more engaged group of adults…and 1 teacher remarked, “this was the best PD workshop I have participated in over the past 12 years.” Special thanks to Renee Cobb, Dr. Oshinuga, Russ Billings, and all the other teachers that helped with the set-up.

 

Teachers and Principals from Compton Unified gathered at Roosevelt Middle School to learn about NASA B.E.S.T.  Teams designed and built balloon powered rockets, while continually having to increase the length of the fishing line “trajectory”, as teams continued to break the record for how far their rockets could travel.  Special thanks to  Dr. Oshinuga and all the other teachers that participated and helped with the set-up.

Students in Dr. Oshinuga’s science class took their turn at NASA’s Rocket Engineering.  The class record exceeded the previously held teacher record of 32 feet.

]]> http://www.trashforteaching.org/compton-unified-launches-with-nasa-t4t-2/feed/ 0 LA County Science Fair 2013: The Ultimate Recycling Invention http://www.trashforteaching.org/la-county-science-fair-2013-the-ultimate-recycling-invention/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/la-county-science-fair-2013-the-ultimate-recycling-invention/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:16:53 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=4124 SciFairlogo2_4x3T4T and Tinker’s Corner anchored the Mini-Maker Faire for the second year in a row. Thank you to all the young engineers, teachers, families, and volunteers that made this event possible. The challenge was to design and build a machine that transported a bottle into a blue recycling bin. Such incredible innovation and collaboration that unfolded in front of our eyes: tube structures, zip lines, pendulums, catapults and combinations of them all!

]]> http://www.trashforteaching.org/la-county-science-fair-2013-the-ultimate-recycling-invention/feed/ 0 Engineering and Invention with El Rincon Elementary http://www.trashforteaching.org/engineering-and-invention-with-el-rincon-elementary/ http://www.trashforteaching.org/engineering-and-invention-with-el-rincon-elementary/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:30:31 +0000 admin http://www.trashforteaching.org/?p=4105 Culver CityT4T and El Rincon Elementary Teachers are partnering up to bring hands-on S.T.E.M. infused experiences to their students. January 28th kicked off with Principal Brunson and Teachers making a field trip down to T4T to build their own Recycling Inventions. March 15th and the 21st brought this collaboration back to the school with two days of engineering challenges with the students.

 

K-5th grade Students from El Rincon Elementary School tested their skills with an engineering challenge to build the tallest tower that could withstand a “wind-quake”.
Once a tower passed the test, and sometimes that took multiple re-designs, students created measured drawings of their structures.

MARCH 15th: Kindergarten, 4th & 5th graders
MARCH 21st: 1st,2nd,3rd graders

Principal Brunson and Teachers trekked down to T4T to explore hands-on STEM, and in the process they invented two 30′ long chain reactions (Ultimate Recycling Machines) that launched empty water bottles into  recycling bins.  Special Thanks to MLI FUNd for sponsoring the event, and sharing the T4T buzz.  Next up, NASA’s B.E.S.T. (Beginning Engineering Science & Technology)

 

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