Recently we did a couple of little things. We hosted 55 6th grade students from Lakeview Elementary before they toured the Art Museum. Adam Scribner and I split them in half for two 45 minute sessions. Adam ran a STEM activity with them. I spoke with them about makerspaces and maker mindset and tools. They… Read more »

Headed up to the east side of Indianapolis to work with four 4th grade classrooms. They had some recent discussions about inventions, so we thought students could design and prototype an invention of their own (in groups of 2 or 3, though a few wanted to work alone). They mad drawings, then got some cardboard… Read more »

We lasered some models of birdhouses (a glowforge pro file that MCCSC shared). Then went to Lakeview to help 3 classes assemble them. They also decorated them with some sharpies as well as some stamps and good earth tone colors. It is only a model of a birdhouse for several reasons : 1) it its… Read more »

I got to spend the morning with 4 3rd grade classes at Eastern Greene Elementary. They are studying Forces & Motion and we talked about why things move or why they stop. They shared about pushes and pulls and gravity, I talked about balanced and unbalanced forces. We even got in a little bit about… Read more »

Unionville Elementary had their annual Earthfest celebration. Games, maker stations with seed bombs and potting a plant (& other stations), snacks, giveaways. It was great weather this year, warm, sunny, slight breeze. There was good attendance, over 100 kids and 50 adults. We set up next to the STEM to Them bus again. They were… Read more »

A school wants to do some Oobleck & slime, so I thought it was time to play with recipes (oobleck works pretty simply, 1 cup cornstarch, about 3/4 cup water) Slime has some variations with glues and activator. I purchased Elmers Glue All multi-purpose Extra strong formula (white){$5 for 16 ounces} and Elmers Washable Clear… Read more »

I was able to help with a teacher PD workshop about Artificial Intelligence. AI Goes Rural is a 3 year project at IU School of Education about co-designing curriculum for MS/HS STEM teachers. They have done several teacher PD’s, been in the classroom, and had a summer camp. This is the last workshop before the… Read more »

Helmsburg Elementary in Brown County had a Community Night for their school. They had outdoor games, a guitarist and singer, and a cookout. I was there to provide some #STEM activities. WE had PVC construction (random parts for random build, stomp rockets, battery & bulb, coffee stirrer & pipe cleaner construction, and 3D printing demonstration…. Read more »

I finally got around to making some pop bottle rocket launchers. These don’t have any special safety features, one student holds onto the bottom of the rocket and launcher while another student pumps. They might get a little wet, but not as much as you would think. Parts : 5′ of 1/2″ PVC (cut into… Read more »

I got to do a little “trash talk” with some first graders at Clarks Creek Elementary in Plainfield. They all knew a bunch already, but we went over it just to make sure. They knew about landfills and the 3R’s (Reduce Reuse Recycle). I pulled some items out of a trash bag and they told… Read more »