STEAM, Sun and Volcanoes

Jan. 17, 2018

Contributed by Kristen Purdy

Kindergarten is working on a STEAM project to help Tilly, who is a pond turtle, fix her shell. Her shell became cracked when a Heron tried to eat her, but her shell was too hard for the Heron to be successful. They have been introduced to predator and prey and even played a game where they had to hunt for their own prey around the classroom. The prey was camouflaged and after round 1, the amount of prey shrank. Who will survive?

First Grade, just started their Sun, Moon and Stars unit. They just completed a model to show them that the Earth orbits around the sun and the moon orbits around the Earth. They showed great enthusiasm while making these models. Now, they are examining the sun. They conducted an experiment to see if their shadow changes during the day. The students will be measuring how their shadows change length throughout the day.

Second grade is finishing up their volcano unit. They have broken up into small groups and researched a shield or composite volcano. Now, they are working on constructing their volcano, trying to model the volcano they have researched. I have to say, I have seen great creativity and collaboration in creating their volcanoes! Next, they will present and have them erupt.

Submitted by: Emma Oberg, K-2 Science Kumu

Here are the students getting ready to solve how to fix Tilly’s shell.
Credit: Kumu Oberg