STEAM WORKSHOP

SIENNA BARGIAL, MEGS ELLIOT, DENNY FULLER, GRACE

LESNIAK, JENNY MOLLEN, AND ANNA SCHAPPLER

SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING ART MATHEMATICS

WHAT IS TABLE OF
STEAM? CONTENTS
STEAM is a newfound method
of incorporating science,
1. Cover Page
technology, engineering, art,
2. Pumpkin Weight Challenge
and math curriculums
3. Falling Pumpkins
together in order to
4. Pumpkin Boxes
encourage students to
5. Marshmallow Towers
develop critical thinking skills.
6. Apple Stacks
The goal of STEAM activities
7. STEAMboats
is for students to use their
8. Final Message
knowledge of these subjects
to solve a problem.

1
 ACTIVITY ONE:
PUMPKIN WEIGHT CHALLENGE

"The pumpkin weight challenge tested your students ability to create a structure
that could hold up the weight of a small pumpkin. The students could choose from a
variety of materials such as popsicle sticks, straws, clothespins, paper, and toilet
paper rolls, and they were allowed to use as much of each material as they wanted.
Before they began building, I had them pass around the pumpkin so that they could
get a good idea of exactly how heavy it was.The students were free to build the
structures however they liked, but the one rule was that the structures needed to be
elevated off of the table. After 4 minutes of building, the students tested their
structures by placing the small pumpkin on top of them. If the structures held the
weight of the small pumpkin, the students could then test a medium and a big
pumpkin as an extra, and more exciting challenge. At the end of testing, I talked with
each of the students about what did and did not work with their own structures and
why they thought so. We also talked about why they chose certain materials to be
used in the making of their structures. This STEAM activity encouraged the students
to investigate the weights of different sized pumpkins and use that understanding to
then build a structure to hold those various weights. The students were able to put
their imaginations to the test with this hands-on learning experience."

- Miss Sienna
2
 ACTIVITYTWO:
FALLING PUMPKINS

"I grew many pumpkins for the fall season this year, but I grew them at the top of a
hill. It was your student's job to build me a device that helped me get my pumpkins
from the top of the hill to the bottom without my pumpkins falling out. I gave the
builders one styrofoam cup, one pumpkin, and an unlimited supply of paper, coffee
filters, pipe cleaners, tape, and popsicle sticks to use as materials for their device. I
challenged them to think of a creative device that kept my pumpkins safe, but gave
them full artistic freedom to do this. After five minutes of building time, we tested
their devices to see if they could safely get my pumpkin to the ground. After our
testing time, we talked about why some devices worked and why others did not and
brainstormed improvements for every device. This STEAM activity requires them to
think critically about the different materials that were given to them, and how they
think those materials can help them, or hurt them, while building their device."

- Mr. Dennis

3
 ACTIVITYTHREE:
PUMPKIN BOXES

"I had a pumpkin that had been growing all month long. It was your childs job to help
me make a box that was large enough to store it in. The students were individually
able to design and build a box out of the materials provided. Their options included,
construction paper, popsicle sticks, tape, and pipe-cleaners. Their objectives were to
make the boxes using some or all of the materials large enough for the pumpkin to fit
in, and to describe their ideas to me! While they were creating, I asked them
questions about their designs and how they planned on building the box. The
students had 5 minutes to build. After their build time, I asked each student to place
the pumpkin inside their box. In order for the students to have successfully solved
the problem, the box had to be larger than the pumpkin. If it was not large enough to
hold the pumpkin, I asked the student what they could do to make it larger. Having
them think about improvements for their box required reflection and thought. I
talked to the students about how what we did relates to the ideas of measurement
and how size is an important observation to make about objects. I also related this
activity to the many different pumpkins we saw during our field trip to the pumpkin
patch. The STEAM activity challenged your child to create a unique box to hold my
pumpkin. It required them to think creatively and critically in order solve the
problem, and they had fun while doing so!"

- MissAnna
4
 ACTIVITYFOUR:
MARSHMALLOW TOWERS

"The marshmallow tower building station was a station created to test your students
fine motor skills and ability to compare different structures. At this station the
students were instructed to build towers as tall as possible only using marshmallows
and toothpicks. The structures had to be self-standing so the students could not hold
them up. First, I gave a demonstration on how to poke the toothpicks into the
marshmallows to create building materials. Then, as the student were building we
began to talk about what made a good tower in their opinions. Most said that a good
tower is taller than all of the others. I asked if a tower that fell down was a good tower
and they said no. This sparked a discussion about why some towers stand up on their
own and why some dont. This conversation lead to the understanding that a tower
with a steady base will stand stronger than a tower without one. After the student
were able to build for about five minutes I would stop them and ask them to describe
the different towers that everyone had made. After we discussed everyones towers
individually we began to compare the towers to each other. This discussion brought
out words like taller/bigger, shorter/smaller, same, and different. This STEAM
activity required the student to be critical thinkers when it came time to building the
tallest tower and when they were comparing the different towers to each other. It
also allowed the students to be creative when building their towers because they
could build it any way that they wanted to with no restrictions other than to try and
build the tallest tower."

- Miss Grace
5
 ACTIVITYFIVE:
APPLE STACKS

'Look! Ten Apples up on top! We are not going to let them drop!...Look! Ten apples on
us all! What fun! We will not let them fall.' Just like the characters in Dr. Seuss book,
Ten Apples Up On Top!, your students were challenged with the task of stacking ten
apples on top of each, without their stack tumbling over. The student engineers were
each given a plate of materials, consisting of: string, pipe cleaners, rubber bands, paper
clips, and playdough, and the choice of using real or artificial apples, to construct their
stacks. The students had four to five minutes to stack as many apples on top of each
other as they could, using whatever materials they wanted from the selection
provided. As they problem-solved to determine the best method to construct a sturdy
apple stack, I asked the students questions about the effectiveness of their choice of
materials. We discussed which materials worked best and how we can use many
materials in collaboration to make the stack even stronger. Your students also
excitedly counted the number of apples they were able to stack! As we wrapped up the
activity, the students engaged in a conversation about the importance of building
strong and sturdy structures in real life. They were confident in knowing that we need
homes, schools, and towers built using only the strongest of materials, so that people
do not get hurt. This STEAM activity engaged students to think critically about
strength and structure, as related to their apple stacks and buildings in the real world,
while incorporating literacy, math, creativity, and fun!"

- Miss Megan
6
 ACTIVITYSIX:
STEAMBOATS

"During the STEAMboats activity, your student had the opportunity to incorporate
many different skills, particularly in the fields of science, engineering, art, and math.
Each child was given one piece of aluminum foil and three minutes to build their boats.
This building portion gave the students the opportunity to practice their engineering
and art skills. Next, they placed their boats in the water to test its ability to sink or
float! Your students used wonderful language and were able to tell me what it meant if
their boat was sinking or floating. Most students were able to tell me that their boat
was floating if it was sitting atop the water, and that it was sinking if it was sitting at
the bottom of the water. When the students were using the vocabulary works of
"sinking" and "floating," they were simultaneously practicing their science observation
skills. After testing their empty boats, the students had the opportunity to add
"people" (unifix math cubes) to their boats to see whose boat could hold the most
before it began to sink. The students were asked to count the people as they placed
them on their boat, testing their knowledge of numbers and counting. Once the
students had completed their experiments, we had the opportunity to reflect on what
we learned at the station. The students were able to correctly recall that we learning
about building, sinking and floating, and counting. Your children had a wonderful time
completing this activity all while strengthening their critical thinking and problem
solving skills!"
- Miss Jenny
7
SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING ART MATHEMATICS

We thank you so much for giving us the

chance to work with your students. They
were very eager to complete each of the six
activities that we had for them, and we
hope they enjoyed their time with us. As
future educators, we love every moment
that we get to work with students and try
out new activities. It is our hope that you
continue to develop your students
understanding of STEAM by using activities
similar to those we did with them. Thank
you again for not only sharing your
students with us, but for also playing an
active role in your students education!