“Pushing Boundaries: A Celebration of STEAM and Creative Innovation”

Casting, Cutting, Modelling, Testing, Demonstrating, Oh My!

The Cambridge Primary young Oaks of Grades 1 to 5 organized a showcase of thoughts, reflections, the spirit of teamwork, of the grit to go ahead despite multiple failures and demonstrate artistic creativity with the additional component of technology.

The evidence on display was a testament to the potential skills acquired, and the outcomes of content knowledge vividly shed light on the thought processes. The kids designed projects of interactive visualizations for all to explore. The projects and models ranged from meeting Lego Challenges in Global Campus to creating Soil – Moisture Detectors from waste materials. The Lego model of the school soccer ground and the amphitheater was a sheer delight to watch.

Crystals can make fun, interesting science projects. Our younger investigators made a collection of crystals and worked out their own method for grouping the crystals into categories. Common crystals included salt and sugar. Indeed, the array of spectacularly colorful crystals manifested transcendence and the light of the heavens.

Water is one of the most important resources gifted to us after the air. It forms the basis of life for every living organism on earth. The students prepared a water gauge that works by capturing and collecting adulterated water into the funnel. The funnel empties the contaminated water into the cylindrical cup below. Further upon boiling the water can be consumed.

Once a roller coaster crests its initial ascension, the potential energy it’s been storing gets, with the help of gravity, released as kinetic energy. The children displayed some fantastic models of Roller Coasters on forest life and under ocean life spotlighted the habitats of land and water animals.

The Walking water experiment, Fossils on clay, volcanoes, Robotic Hands, and Solar Panels proclaim that one doesn’t have to be “a scientist” to do hands-on science. Thinking beyond the box about what qualifies as a science project and reviewing the basic steps of the scientific method or engineering design processing oneself to achieve the result, is in itself a remarkable feat. Each project encourages

exploration, modification, and students to pursue their own ideas and curiosities.

Participating in the expedition of MIT and STEAM, students improved their critical thinking skills while learning about content as they work through each of these projects. To complete these projects, students worked collaboratively with their peers like actual scientists and engineers do when they create innovative designs.

A combination of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics led students to find creative solutions to real-world problems. This included arts and literature to make it more well-rounded so children could understand how the world works around them early on for future success.

Feel encouraged to adapt them to your local learning space!

Smita Ghosh

Cambridge Primary English Facilitator

Oakridge International Scholl, Bachupally