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 grant money runs out

There was a lesson about training google teachable machine to distinguish between 2 options, then making that cause things happen on a microbit using a “bridge” { https://ai-robots.glitch.me/ }. We used neopixels as the output (display a color based on what teachable machine sees)

After lunch the teachers split into 2 groups. One did an AI lesson focused on Math and Art. The other Science and ELA. The core of the Sci/ELA was using a generative AI to rewrite a short story based on an existing SCIFI movie/book. (or write from prompts). Then give it more instructions, like what vantage point to write from/for (“science teacher” , “scientist”, “elementary student”) and compare. Then the idea was to look at the science involved in the story and “determine” its plausibility.

There is much that can be done with AI.I think the brainstorming help and comparison discussions are good.  Everybody has to remember, the AI “answers” are only as good as the database. One difficult part for schools is that most of the AI services are age 18+. Some are 13+, some are 13+ with parent approval.

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.

An interesting thing that happens when I have PVC construction as well as PVC for a specific purpose (stomp rocket launcher, catapult) , the kids decide to build their own from the random PVC parts.

There was lots of action with the rockets and PVC and lots of interest in the 3D printing demo.

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 3 pieces)
2 – 90 degree elbows
1 – endcap
1 – valve stem (they are different heights)
PVC primer and glue
{pvc cutter, drill, channel locks)

The size is arbitrary. I went with 3′ tall.
You need to drill a hole in the end cap and pull the valve stem through til it seats.
(I used channel locks to grip the stem and pull)
I needed a 1/2″ hole.

Because I didnt have a vise, I worked my way up to 1/2″ through several bits.
I did use the channel locks to hold the end cap as best I could.

The most expensive part is really the bicycle pump (to get a good one).

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 me if you could ReduceReuseRecyle that item. They knew what many items were made of (paper, metal, plastic). One new thing to many was where those materials came from. Most knew paper came from a tree and we dont want to keep cutting trees down. Only a couple knew that metal come from underground. I dont think anyone knew that plastic came from oil. 

We talked about the 3 steps in Recycle (collect, manufacture, purchase) and how we need to get better at step 3 (buying stuff made with recycled content). Then we did 2 activities.
1) We model the recycle process with broken crayons. They had to process the crayons : pull paper off, sort by color, break into smaller pieces, put them in the to the silicone molds. Then I melted them in a toaster over (need a bigger oven, could only put 1 mold tray in at a time). They take about 8 minutes at 250 degrees and about 30 minutes to cool/solidify.
I need to get MUCH neater with pulling molten wax molds out of the oven…i kept spilling it
2) the 2 teachers had cut up old t-shirts into strips for students to braid doggie pull toys (Reuse)
This was my first time braiding, same for most of the students. But I think it went well.

Some numbers :
we still generate almost 5 pounds per person per day
National recycling rate is 32%
Indiana is 20% (goal is 50%)
Most trash still goes to a landfill (I think about 5% is burnt for electricity or heat)

I got to spend an afternoon with the Shakamak Elementary teachers talking about STEM & MakerEd. I gave them a bag of maker supplies and had some others/extras available as well as a hot glue station. They were to make something, anything…maybe related to class, maybe about themselves. They could do it individually or as a groups…but every build had to have a light on it (LED & battery).

I like doing this for many reasons.
Making opens up multiple parts of the brain, giving learning multiple anchor points.
Making fosters communication :discussions and questions, conversations.
Making is naturally collaborative.
Making is cross-curricular.
Making is good for our mental, physical, and emotional health .
They learn about LED’s and how colored lights make everything better.
These are some of the important aspects that we talk about WHILE they are experiencing them.

Then we chatted bout STEM and Maker, what it is, with examples for every subject area.
Except 1 … that morning I realized I did not have anything with music
How could I have ever left that out??!!!

At the end they share about what they made.
Here are some of the things they made :

I helped at the Crawford County 4-H Design Innovation Lab Open House. My main role was to do some laser cutting, so I personalized nametags for those that wanted one. A couple of kids then designed their own for me to laser (since my computer was logged into glowforge)

I presented at/attended the Indiana Association of Physics Teachers Spring 2024 meeting. Friday night was a gathering of 10 people and I shared “MakerSpace Physics”. It was a presentation with examples of making for learning Physics. I also shared many hands on items for them to explore (not everyone has done paper circuits or 3D printed balloon cars or made a straw oboe)

Someone brought their telescope because they are doing a project on Astronomical Photography

Saturday had about 20 people and was a typical session day.

Headed to Shoals High School to do some paper circuits with a couple of classes.
They quickly did the battery & bulb (light up one LED with one battery, try each color, how many can you do at once, which colors work together). Then we introduced alligator clips for our wires. We started with 1 light again. The first difficulty is that everyone wants to clip the alligator clips from both wires to the battery (essentially touching both sides of the battery at once, creating a short circuit). Then we tried a series and parallel circuit. There is always a bit of struggle (lights need to be in the same direction ; connections need to be good). And the flaw that in series, you need two batteries (each LED needs about 3 V). After that they created a paper circuit with copper tape. One class was not so interested in making a drawing, but we got through it and they all accomplished the task.

On the morning of the total solar eclipse, I went to Eastern Greene Elementary to be a part of their PD morning. We talked about STEM & Maker Centered Learning. One thing that I had to learn for this was the 3D learning model/NGSS framework involving Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, Disciplinary Core Ideas. I focused on the idea of learning science means doing science and engineering Practices. This mixes well with STEM/Maker Centered Learning.

As usual, they get a bag of maker stuff (pipe cleaners, straws, craft sticks, beads, buttons, LED, battery…) and need to make something/anything. There is also cardboard and cardboard tools available, as well as extra materials if their bag has the wrong color. While they make, we discuss the ideas, then share what they made at the end. Some did not have enough time to finish, which is good for the discussion of what to do with students when that happens. We also get to discuss “process over product”. They were collaborative in their work, something that always happens with making (humans really want to help each other). They talked. They had fun. And learned while doing that…

With the April 15th Total Solar Eclipse, a few schools wanted us to do some eclipse work.
We went to Lakeview Elementary and Shakamak Elementary to work with a variety of grades to explore the eclipse. They all knew what was coming and had good explanations of what it was. One thing they (and most people) didnt know was that a total solar eclipse happens about every 18 months. “We” dont pay much attention because it happens in different places around the world. The next one that the U.S. will see is in 20 years. We also do some Q&A about stars and what is in space (mostly empty) and what is in our Solar System

I have two models for the sizes of the bodies involved (Sun-Earth-Moon). A basketball is a good approximation for the Earth, with a tennis ball being the Moon. The Sun would be a 9 story building and 2 miles away – no model for that. The other is a 1″ Earth and 0.25″ Moon wooden bead or laser cut discs (0.27″  would be better). These are used to make a necklace. Students color in the Earth and Moon (it is really difficult to color on a 0.25″ anything)(btw, the moon is gray/grey)

We also do a corona chalk art activity to represent what we will see for 4 minutes : A ring of light around a black circle

With the after school kids we had a little more time, so we added 2 other activities.
A couple of older students tried the messy shaving cream sun art (shaving cream in a plate, add some drops of food coloring to color as a sun (mix), level out, place piece of paper on it for a short time, pull paper off, scrape off shaving cream) VERY VERY messy. Do it on a disposable table cloth. And have gloves because food coloring will stain skin (it goes away eventually). Students probably have never used food coloring, so “just a few drops” doesnt mean anything to them.
(I didnt get any pics because my hands were a mess)
( https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/sun-paper/en/ )

We also did a paper circuit activity where the moon rotates and blocks the light (LED) of the sun.
(sorry, no pics)