STEM Connection
What's happening in STEM?
Welcome
Science Fair is Coming!
I am excited to announce our 2nd annual Science and Engineering Fair! Last year's event was a huge success. Kid-scientists and engineers from all grade levels participated and showed us their science and engineering smarts. This year's fair will take place on January 26th. Students in grades K-4 are welcomed and invited to participate. Mrs. Benson will host an information night, for parents, in the BME Media Center next Monday, December 5th, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Project proposals are due to the office no later than Friday, December 16th. More information will soon be posted in each of the STEM Canvas courses as well. (Stay tuned!) Here are the important dates and times:
Monday, Dec. 5 5:30-6:30pm Information Night in Media Center
Monday, Dec. 12 4:00-5:00pm Research/Help Session in Media Center
Optional help session where parent/s and students can ask questions and develop a research plan with support.Friday, Dec. 16 Project Proposals Due in front office.
Monday, January 9 4:00-5:00pm Research/Help Session in Media Center
Optional help session where parent/s and students can ask questions and develop a research plan with support.Wednesday, Jan. 25 2:30-4:00pm Set-Up projects in the Media Center/Gym
Thursday, Jan. 26 8:00am-2:30pm Closed Judging in the Media Center/Gym
Specific judging times will be communicated to students and teachers the day before/of fair.
Thursday, Jan. 26 6:00-7:30pm Open House in the Library/Gym
Families and community members are invited to view projects.
Participating students DO NOT have to attend or stay the entire time.
Friday, January 27
- 8:00am Winners Announced
- 8:00am-2:00pm Classroom Open House in the Library/Gym - Classes have an opportunity to view projects during the school day.
- 2:00 - 4:00pm Pick-Up projects in the Library/Gym - ALL projects will go home with students or be picked up by parents.
Homeroom STEM Lessons
Every class at BME takes part in homeroom STEM and Science lessons. All lessons are based on the Indiana Academic Standards for Science. (Standards Linked Here!) The science standards focus on the following topics; physical science; earth and space science; life science. There are computer science and engineering standards as well.
We use curriculum developed by Carolina, FOSS, and Purdue University that is distributed by through Purdue's Indiana Science Initiative. These hands on kits allow teachers to deliver engaging, hands-on science and engineering lessons to our students. Our first quarter fall focus was Life Science. Classes Investigated life science by observing real animals and plants, their life cycles, and their structures or by using virtual labs. Some classes even designed their own habitats and student-driven inquiry has continued into the next quarter!
The 2nd Quarter classroom focus has shifted to Physical Science and Engineering. These topics will spill over into third quarter as well. Our classroom teachers will guide students through hands-on science investigations like building and testing vehicle designs, investigating forces and motion, exploring how sounds travels through different materials, designing hamster habitats, and designing toy box organizers.
STEM EXPERIENCES
Natural Phenomena
Garden Lessons
Measurement and Data with Playdough
Teacher - Kara Benson
Email: kbenson@zcs.k12.in.us
Location: 5555 South Main Street, Whitestown, IN, USA
Phone: 317-873-2226