STEMsation
Students engaged in many design challenges that allowed them to be creative and think outside the box. Activities included cleaning an oil spill, designing and flying kites, making paper airplanes, building a popsicle stick catapult, and creating a table top version of the Eiffel Tower out of straws! It was impressive to see the students work together, problem-solve, and showcase their ingenuity.
“I really liked making the castle. The first one didn’t work but then we kept making it taller. It was a little unstable but we made it the tallest. It was one foot and five inches tall.”
“I really liked all of the challenges. Today we tried to clean up an oil spill. We used sponges to soak up the water. We soaked some of it up with sponges and that can help wildlife.”
“The catapult was really fun to make. It was challenging but we worked together as a team. We launched a marshmallow 34 feet!”
ASM Players: Theater Program, Jr.
The week begins by exploring the fundamental elements and vocabulary of theater, laying the foundation for their upcoming performance. Students design and sew their own costumes under the guidance of the instructor, developing their fine motor skills and attention to detail. Students engage in line, song and dance rehearsals and work on blocking as well.
Vex Robotics
Throughout the week, the students work together to design, build, and program their own VEX robots. They use the remote controllers to bring their creations to life, and have them interact with their environment. Students program their robots to perform various tasks and completing challenges, which helps them further develop skills in problem-solving skills, communication and critical thinking. Students also develop their technical skills, build confidence in themselves, and make new friends who share similar interests.
“I was a big fan of the dance challenge because it gave me a way to express what I can make the robot do. I made the claw open and close, raised the arm up and down, and turned the whole robot around.”
“The ‘It’s a draw challenge’ was great because we had to make the robot draw different pictures. We played Pictionary with the robots and it was fun!”
“I liked the relay race because we all had to try our best and work together or it didn’t work at all.”
Learning Python
Students build a strong foundation in data and control structures, mastering the use of variables, loops, and conditional statements to make decisions and control their programs. They tackle logic games that challenge their problem-solving skills, requiring them to think critically and make connections between different pieces of information. Students were also introduced to object-oriented programming (OOP), where they learned to design and organize their code in a more structured way, understanding concepts like objects, classes, and inheritance that enable them to build more complex programs.
