Dear Parents and Students, 

We are excited to announce our 2026 schoolwide STEAM Fair with the theme of Energy in Motion! This event will be an amazing opportunity for students to explore engineering, design, and creativity in the context of using discarded materials to create toys. This will provide a framework for students to design and build toys that demonstrate the principles of cause and effect, forces, energy transfers, simple machines, mechanics, and artistic expression. 

While the district's STEAM EXPO will take place on January 28th, P.S./I.S. 229’s STEAM Fair will take place Wednesday, February 25th.  All students in grades 2-8 are required to participate. Everyone will receive a grade on their project. Students can work individually, or in groups of two or three (with one or two grade level peers from the same class) given parental permission and willingness to create focused mutual time in their children’s schedules for this endeavor. Students that are working in groups should be assigned a specific role to ensure all students are participating and taking part in the culmination of the group project.  

Students in grades 3-5 have been learning about energy, how transformations are always occurring around us, and have participated in interactive activities during class time.  Additionally, they have had opportunities to use the engineering design process and more will be forthcoming. This process helps guide students through the process of creating a solution to a given problem. Through this process, they can learn important skills such as brainstorming, problem-solving, and working in teams. 

We hope that this unique and exciting experience will encourage students to explore the world around them and to think creatively when faced with challenging problems. We believe that the skills learned will serve as essential pieces of knowledge for their future endeavors. 

The project details have been posted on your child’s STEAM Google Classroom and the school website at https://www.229k.org/ under the ‘Students’ tab. If you have any questions, please email me at kpetrella@schools.nyc.gov with the subject STEAM Fair follow-up. Please include your child’s name and class.  

Thank you, 

Mrs. Petrella Vilchis 

STEAM Teacher
Grades 3-5