Our elementary STEAM classes recently took on the exciting Egg Drop Challenge where students designed and built protective contraptions to keep a raw egg intact when dropped from a height. This hands-on activity encouraged students to apply their creativity, critical thinking, and engineering skills as they experimented with different materials and designs to create the most effective solution. Through this engaging challenge, our young learners discovered the principles of physics and engineering in a fun, interactive way! 

Our preschool STEAM classes participate in a fun tradition that mimics the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Students read Balloons Over Broadway, where they are introduced to Tony Sarg, the puppeteer and inventor behind the parade. Students are then challenged with creating their own balloon for their very own classroom parade! The balloon can be a representation of a character from their favorite movie, TV show, book, or even their own unique design. Students have the additional challenge of making their balloon suspend in the air. Students use their critical thinking and engineering skills to design a device that keeps the ballon suspended in the air as if it was inflated with helium just like the balloons in the Thanksgiving Day parade.

In February 2023, we hosted our inaugural Family STEAM Night for our elementary and middle school divisions, and it surpassed all expectations, drawing nearly 300 participants. Families journeyed together through various STEAM stations, engaging in hands-on activities that were not only aligned with academic standards but also connected to relevant STEAM career pathways.

Our 8 STEAM stations offered a wide array of activities designed to appeal to diverse student interests. For example, in the "Build a Boat" station, participants explored concepts like buoyancy, surface area, gravity, and density as they constructed boats from aluminum foil, aiming to hold the maximum weight possible. At the "Hoop Gliders" station, students delved into the four forces of flight—thrust, drag, gravity, and lift—by building and flying gliders made from straws and paper hoops. The "Blobs in a Bottle" activity allowed students to create colorful, moving blobs in oil and water, providing a hands-on demonstration of why oil and water separate. 

The evening was filled with excitement, and its positive impact was clear. We witnessed remarkable parent engagement as families actively participated in learning alongside their students at the different stations. The event fostered a deeper understanding of STEAM as families recognized the connection between STEAM subjects, real-world applications, and career opportunities. Additionally, this event advanced our goal of fostering school-wide engagement, reinforcing our commitment to building a culture centered around STEAM and project-based learning.

Davidson Academy offers a dynamic array of Bear Camp opportunities for our elementary students, providing a summer filled with fun, learning, and creativity. Campers can explore their passions through a wide range of camps, including STEM-focused camps like DinoTREK STEM, Storybook STEM, Mad Science, and Kitchen Chemistry, which engage young minds with hands-on activities and exciting scientific discoveries. For budding artists, camps like Disney Arts & Crafts and Past, Present, Paint! provide learners opportunities to unleash their creativity through various mediums. Our Camp Brick LEGO and Stop Motion Animation camps foster teamwork, imagination, and technical skills as students build and create their own movies.

Middle school students regularly participate in engaging, STEAM-focused elective courses. The eighth grade STEAM class immerses students in hands-on, collaborative learning experiences that integrate math, science, technology, and the arts. Students use various tools and creative mediums to design and build projects, learning to plan, design, and document their solutions to real-world problems. This course provides numerous opportunities for creative exploration while reinforcing the core concepts of STEAM. 

In the Robotics course, students gain familiarity with programming, sensors, and automation, honing their critical thinking skills. Using Vex Robotics, they explore science and engineering principles while fostering creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. Students design, build, and program robots to meet the objectives of each lesson, applying their knowledge in practical, hands-on scenarios. 

Within our STEAM instructional environment, learners benefit from a formal structure of both within-school and extracurricular opportunities, one notable example being the Destination Imagination (D.I.) program. In D.I., students take the lead in forming teams and engaging in a STEAM competition where they research, plan, design, build, and test solutions to given challenges. These challenges require teams to not only devise technical solutions but also incorporate storytelling elements into their presentations, fostering creativity and innovation. 

Throughout the year, teams follow the D.I. 6-step process, which includes recognizing the challenge, imagining potential solutions, collaborating and initiating plans, assessing progress, and evaluating and celebrating their achievements. By participating in D.I., students develop essential life skills such as teamwork, time management, expense calculation, and various STEAM applications. 

The engagement and confidence of learners in the STEAM program are evident through their active involvement in D.I. competitions, where they showcase their solutions and ideas with enthusiasm and poise. Strategies employed to bolster learners' confidence include providing opportunities for hands-on exploration, encouraging creative problem-solving, and fostering a supportive team environment where students feel empowered to take ownership of their learning. Through D.I. and similar initiatives, learners not only gain agency over their learning but also develop the skills and mindset necessary for success in STEAM disciplines and beyond. 

Our middle school students continue learning during the summer through our various Bear Camp offerings. Engineering Earth is an exciting program that teaches innovation and fosters creativity. Young aspiring engineers and problem solvers are invited to embark on a hands-on journey into the world of technology and design. Campers tackle real-world challenges, build impressive structures, and unleash their imaginations through engineering projects from constructing bridges and launching rockets to programming robots. iCode's experienced instructors nurture a passion for innovation and teamwork while inspiring the next generation of inventors and builders.

It’s Alive! Animals, Plants, & Us! explores the realm of how plants and animals grow, survive, and thrive! Students learn about human anatomy as well as animal habitats and migration on our giant interactive dymaxion map of the world.

Camp Brick LEGO offers a camp that focuses on teaching the basics of Stop Motion Movie creation with MINECRAFT® and other LEGO® figures. Campers learn to write a script, build a set, and direct and edit their own Stop Motion movie. Individual as well as group projects are encouraged.

The Art & Architecture Camp dives deep into the world of architecture. From exploring various architectural styles to creating intricate 3D models, this camp challenges young architects in their drawing skills, to grasp measurements, and to explore the fascinating history of buildings. They engage in hands-on projects that encourage critical thinking, creativity, and an understanding of the art and science behind architectural design.

In addition to the variety of engineering and science-based camps available, Bear Camp offers nine iCode Tech Camps: Game Master, YouTube Creator, AI & Machine Learning with Python 3, Minecraft Modder, Web Development, Roblox Editor, Digital DJ, and VEX Robotics.

Davidson Academy proudly partners with Belmont University to provide our students enriching, hands-on learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom. This partnership allows our students to engage in college-level activities and explore diverse academic fields.

Our 8th grade students recently visited Belmont’s Encore Theater for a live performance that complemented their English Language Arts curriculum, bringing stories like "The Monkey’s Paw" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" to life. High school students have also participated in specialized workshops at Belmont, such as the School of Pharmacy Workshop, where they created hand sanitizer, explored medical resources, and learned about toxicology through interactive games.

Additionally, our Anatomy Honors students toured Belmont's science labs and conducted dissections under the guidance of college professors, while our psychology students delved into the study of brain waves in a lab setting at Belmont. These experiences inspire our students to pursue their academic passions, introduce them to potential career paths, and foster a love for lifelong learning.

Each spring, our high school students (grades 9-12) participate in the Tennessee Math Teachers Association (TMTA) competition at Volunteer State Community College, where they challenge themselves and showcase their mathematical skills. Additionally, our middle school students have the opportunity to compete in the TMTA Math competition held at Austin Peay State University. These events not only foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of mathematics but also encourage collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving, aligning with our commitment to providing robust STEAM learning experiences. 

We use STEAM as a way to inspire all of our students, but we know it’s especially important to try and bridge the gender gap when it comes to STEAM careers for girls. We took a group of middle and high school girls to participate in MTSU’s yearly Tennessee Girls in STEM (TGIS) conference. The goal of this conference is to give young women the opportunity to investigate STEM careers and interact with female role models. The workshops allow attendees to participate in hands-on, collaborative activities related to STEM disciplines, and they also get a chance to meet other girls interested in STEM learning. It’s a great way to promote STEM careers as a viable choice for our female students, and we look forward to continuing to participate in this opportunity. 

Each summer Tennessee Tech’s College of Engineering offers a 3-day residential summer camp for rising 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade students to learn about engineering, computing, and engineering technology. During this camp, students get to experience and engage in hands-on projects related to the top engineering and computing fields, taught by engaging faculty members. Students  work directly with industry leaders and tour and experiment in state-of-the-art laboratories. During this program, students are mentored by current Tennessee Tech students and learn what it means to be an engineering student.