I Wonder Challenge
The second week of school traditionally means the start of science fair preparation in 7th and 8th grade, so students got to participate in the annual "I wonder" challenge once again. The 7th graders really knocked it out of the park, with David A, Brishya, and August competing to break the all-time Budlong record for number of questions generated in 24 hours. And they did it -- more than 156 questions each!
Hot Diggity Dog
Eighth graders enjoyed a fun start to their unit on energy by using Hot Wheels. They are investigating how to change the kinetic energy of an object, and what better way than with toy cars?
Fresh Air
We may be done with vacation and back to school, but that's no reason we have to be inside all day long. Instead, we've been taking our work out to the garden. Here, 8th graders decorated pages explaining who they are as a scientist during the first week of school.
Up We Go
Eighth graders participated in a team-building challenge where they had to create the tallest tower possible out of just index cards. The twist? They could only begin using their cards to build once they had written a similarity amongst their group members on each card. They learned a lot about one another in the process. Congratulations to our two 401 teams who handily beat all other groups, even with fewer cards than another class!
Cup Challenge
Seventh graders got their own taste of team-building with a challenge to use only a rubber band controlled by four strings to move cups into a series of different positions. The difficulty increased as they advanced, ultimately requiring them to use only non-verbal communication while holding one hand behind their back.
Up, Up, Up
Who says the first day of class has to be dry and boring? Not in science class at Budlong, anyway! Eighth graders started off their first day in the lab by building cardboard roller coasters for marbles. There were some inventive designs, even ones launching off of the teacher computer cart to reach the floor.