Building Our Kano Computer

STEM Club TShirt

Check out our new TShirt design. Shirts are $7 each. Parents, you are welcome to purchase one as well if you would like one for chaperoning field trips or for school-wide events.

Orders are due February 6th!

Anti-Smoking Presentation

At our last meeting, Tar Wars visited our classroom. We have all heard smoking is bad for us, but we got an in-depth presentation just how bad! We learned about all the chemicals that are found in cigarettes, found out how expensive smoking is (the students had big plans for what they could spend their money on versus cigarettes), learned about the dangers of other tobacco products, and saw some very gruesome pictures of what smoking can do to your body.

We then went outside and were each given a straw. We had to hold our noses and walk around with the straw in our mouths. Then we ran in place. This activity demonstrated how difficult it can be to breathe after years of smoking. 

Paper Airplanes

Most of the time, making paper airplanes and flying them at school is a big no no! But in STEM Club, we just use the excuse that we are putting our engineering skills to the test! Club members designed and created paper planes. They tested and modified their creations to try to make the plane that would travel the furthest. At the end of our meeting, the students lined up and flew their planes. Omari was the competition winner!

Paper Airplanes Link

This is the link I used to show different airplane designs. I know many of our engineers were practicing at home last night. I even had a few new designs come through my classroom today! Keep up the good work!

http://www.funpaperairplanes.com

Learn to Write Code!

Attached is the link we will use at our next STEM Club meeting. Feel free to check it out ahead of time!

http://code.org/learn

2014-2015 STEM Club

Sorry it has taken me so long to update the blog! We have been up to some exciting things in STEM. Pictures are soon to come!

If you have been keeping up with our adventures, we have been doing a lot of science and engineering in our first few meetings. We built roller coasters our first meeting, and catapults our second meeting. We also watched some video on some real-life catapults, used in the annual "Punkin' Chunkin'" competition that takes place the day after Thanksgiving.

Last meeting, we learned about recycling and its importance. We began recycling for the school this past Tuesday, and will continue to do so every Tuesday from 8:00-8:25, weather permitting. We need all hands on deck, as there is a lot of ground to cover in that short length of time!

I receive a Kano Computer Kit today from Dr. Small. In December, we will begin focusing on technology, and learning how to write computer code, as well as build our own computer! I am working to secure some local guest speakers to tell us how they use writing code in their daily jobs, as well as a Skype lesson with some developers from Microsoft. We are going to be the most tech savvy kids around town!