STEM Challenge - Level One

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. STEM learning is important because it teaches critical thinking skills and instills a passion for innovation. Students will develop their problem-solving skills while learning key concepts across many different disciplines. 

Each week, we will learn a life, earth, or physical science concept that is relevant to the challenge we will complete. We will then use this concept to brainstorm ways to solve a problem. We will design, prototype, test and refine our creations. 

Each class will begin with us sharing our creations from the previous class's challenge. We will share videos, photographs, and show in real-time how our creations work. This will be the testing portion of our class. We will discuss each student's creation, whether it met the criteria, things we loved, and ways we think we can improve our designs. 

The second part of each class will be the investigation of the next science project. We will read about it, watch videos about it, and play games to practice it. I will then present the challenge. We will brainstorm together various ways to complete the challenge and materials that could be used. 

Finally, we will begin planning our design, drawing pictures, and describing what we need and how we will create our projects.

Here is a brief syllabus for this class:

Week 1 - Introduction to the class, design process,
Science Concept: Sun, shade, and shadows
STEM Challenge: Make shade
Week 2 - Science Concept: Natural Resources
STEM Challenge: Create a home using natural resources that can hold two small toys 
Week 3 - Science Concept: Gravity and Balance
STEM Challenge: Create a tall tower that can stand on its own
Week 4 - Science Concept: Sound Waves
STEM Challenge: Make maracas that make different sounds
Week 5 - Science Concept: Force and load
STEM Challenge: Make a strong roof that can hold a load
Week 6 - Science Concept: Sound waves and our ears
STEM Challenge: Make a telephone that will allow you to hear someone 10 feet away
Week 7 - Science Concept: Gravity and shock absorbers
STEM Challenge: Make a cup with a ball in it land safely
Week 8 - Science Concept: Force and how different kinds of bridges are constructed
STEM Challenge: Make a bridge that can hold a small amount of weight
Week 9 - Science Concept: Force, gravity, and motion
STEM Challenge: Make a roller coaster track for a marble
Week 10 - Science Concept: Wind
STEM Challenge: Make a sail that uses wind power to move a boat
Week 11 - Science Concept: Force and motion
STEM Challenge: Design a play structure that uses a push or a pull
Week 12 - Science Concept: Animals in the winter
STEM Challenge: Design a birdfeeder that will hold food for birds during the winter
Week 13 - Science Concept: Insects
STEM Challenge: Create an insect catcher that will catch an insect, allow us to study it, and then release it unharmed
Week 14 - Science Concept: Marsupials
STEM Challenge: Make a pouch that can hold a stuffed animal
Week 15 - Review and share our favorite projects, any redesigns we did, and play a game incorporating all concepts learned in this class.