Aluminum Foil Free Build! We were trying to figure out is aluminum foil was suited for building purposes (rather than just its intended purpose.)

STEM DAY 2.0: Our Second STEM Day in January was a BIG success! We had some many community partners and volunteers again. Bricks4Kidz, UK Veterinary Pathology Lab, Dr. Franklin from UK Anatomy, the UK Solar Car Racing Team, 3D Doodlers and Ozobots from UK College of Engineering, Race for Our Future Slot Car Racers, and Mathenasium with Post-It Buildings.

Arty Party: Our March Non-Rotation Day was ARTY PARTY. Ms. Lester planned a bunch of super cool collaborative and community artist stations for the kids to explore. For my station, I wanted to integrate STEM and art, so I used teh robot Sphero's to make a model "spin" on marble painting. It was a big hit. #jacksonpolluckproud

100th Day of School: For the Kindergarten and First Graders, the 100th day of school is kind of a BIG deal! To celebrate, we got out 100 of a whole bunch of things to see what we could make. (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.1 & NGSS K-2-ETS1-3 )

THANKSGIVING ENGINEERING CHALLENGES: In honor of the holiday, we participated in some engineering challenges. 1) Design a floatable boat that would take us across the "ocean" to a new world, 2) Build a structure that is large enough to hide a turkey, and 3) Design a table using constrained materials (tape, popsicle sticks, and index cards) that is large enough to hold a Thanksgiving Feast. ( K-2-ETS1-2 )

MYSTERY DAY (November 21- Non-Rotation Day): We took a break from our regularly scheduled specials to have a fun day showcasing big projects in each of the specials areas. Ms. Lester shared some conceptual art where we threw paint balloons at large canvases. Ms. Ray displayed some cool basketball skills. Ms. Moore did a real life angry birds with a large sling shot and rubber chickens. Ms. Bosworth led a square dance off. Ms. Blankenship read us one of her favorite stories to remind us to be thankful. And Mr. Boles... well, he was a balancing, juggling, mad scientist! It was a fun day for all.

STEM DAY: This year's STEM day on October 20 was a big success. We had volunteers for Race for the Future, CHAMPS, University of Kentucky College of Education, The Explorium, Bluegrass Greensource, Dr. Leanna Prater from IAKSS, as well as our Special Area team on hand. It was a big success with the kids and we love all the community support for STEM education. Our next STEM day is planned for January! Lots of fun and learning is already in the works for a second STEM day of the school year. If you would like to volunteer or have an awesome connection to a cool STEM career or organization, please email me at julie.moore@fayette.kyschools.us.