Lincoln School students participated in a game design workshop, taught by parent and Rutherford resident Orchun Koroglu, founder of Game Design Academy.
Koroglu and the students used Boxels to build their video game characters. Students placed blocks on the board to design their characters, then digitized the characters by taking a picture with the app, and customized the animations.
By participating, students combined critical thinking with creativity to design their game characters.
Union Middle School students in the Robotics studied mechanical engineering and gear ratios with a hands-on challenge.
The mission? Build a robot strong enough to pull the most weight. Using critical thinking, the students experimented with different gears to achieve the most torque. Each team’s creation was put to the test when the scale measured tractive effort, the true pulling power produced by the gears.
The engaging, STEM-powered challenge blended creativity, engineering and friendly competition.
Washington School third graders dove into the Great Marshmallow Challenge, transforming their classroom into a hub of discovery and fun! Equipped with just spaghetti, string, tape and a single marshmallow, students raced to engineer the tallest, most stable structures. Along the way, they mastered key skills like communication and teamwork — sharing bright ideas, problem-solving and delegating roles. Each innovative design, whether it soared or toppled, became a lesson in resilience and creativity. This hands-on challenge provided a perfect opportunity to develop critical thinking skills in a fun and supportive classroom environment.