Monday, November 4, 2013

Engineering, Simple Machines, Sublimation, Hydrophilic, and Gardens are just a few of Region 3s Favorite STEM Things

The end of September and the entire month of October, the Region 3 STEM Team (which consists of Monica Gonzalez-Williams, Phil Romig, and Mark Drewes) were excited to receive emails from the field; reporting on all of the inquiry-based, hands-on STEM activities that were taking place in the Out-of-School-Time Programs.

Without further ado, here is what has been taking place in Region 3s Out-of-School-Time Programs. The following reports were submitted by either site coordinators who facilitated the activities or by the students who took part in the activities.

Name of Out-of-School-Time Provider: Target Excellence

Name of District: Elk Grove Unified

Name of School Site: Sierra Enterprise

Grade Level of Activity: 5th - 6th Grade

Number of students who took part in the activity: 20

Type of Activity: Creative Thinking and Engineering Activity

Learning Outcomes- Students were able to:


  • Build a structure over five feet tall that could freely hang without falling apart after 5 seconds
  • Creatively use objects to accomplish each task
  • Efficiently use available materials to accomplish each task
  • Find ways to fasten the items together
  • Work in a collaborative environment
Instructor's Notes: 

The students really enjoyed this activity for numerous reasons, such as: the activity was hands on, it allowed them to creatively think of ways to solve problems, they were able to work in teams, and they were able to control the outcome of their assignment (meaning that their wasn't an adult, informing them of what their structure needed to look like.). Both teams were invested from the beginning of the activity until the very end. A friendly competitive air filled the classroom as well. However, at times their enthusiasm led to carelessness, as they rushed through stages, dropping materials on the floor. The staff would then walk over to each group and remind them about the norms and safety procedures that they had agreed upon at the start of the project. The results were impressive- both teams were able to build a structure that measured over five feet tall.

Working collaboratively to build a five foot long structure.
Students working with a staff member to test their structure.



Students celebrating after meeting the challenge.

Name of Out-of-School-Time Provider: Target Excellence

Name of District: Natomas Unified

Name of School Site: Natomas Middle School

Grade Level of Activity: 7th - 8th Grade

Number of students who took part in the activity: 28

Type of Activity: Career Pathways in Engineering

Learning Outcomes- Students were able to:
  • Explore the various fields in engineering  
  •  Assess general career motivators and barriers to the engineering field
  •  Recognize the importance of oral and written communication
  • Understand the relevance of engineering to global societal issues
  • Understand how engineers solve problems
Instructor's Notes: 

Students enjoyed seeing how science and math concepts are applied to the real world. Many were excited to learn how engineers are designing earthquake-resistant houses, navigational devices for the visually impaired, and innovative amusement park rides.  They became very invested when I discussed the average salary and earning potential of an engineer.  Many were shocked to find out that most CEOs in the Silicon Valley have engineering degrees. The students were excited to learn that they could apply their creative, entrepreneurial, and problem-solving skills in engineering. Many of them wanted to become an engineer at the end of the session because they saw how engineering can help people.  



Name of Out-of-School-Time Provider: Target Excellence

Name of District: Sacramento City Unified

Name of School Site: Cesar Chavez Elementary School

Grade Level of Activity: 4th - 5th Grade

Number of students who took part in the activity: 20

Type of Activity: Creating Mini-Rube Goldberg Machines

Learning Outcomes- Students were able to:
  • Engineer simple machines that could be used in everyday life
  • Use their creativity to design objects to accomplish a task
  • Reason through problems and adjust their solution to the problem accordingly
  • Work in collaborative teams
Instructor's Notes: 

Students enjoyed the challenge and became increasingly competitive over time. There were more male students participating than female students. We will try to increase the level of participation among female students in future activities. We were impressed that they managed to build an enclosed track to make sure the ball didn’t roll off the edge.


Name of Out-of-School-Time Provider: Target Excellence

Name of District: Natomas Unified

Name of School Site: Natomas Middle School

Grade Level of Activity: 7th - 8th Grade

Number of students who took part in the activity: 30

Type of Activity: The Many Forms of Dry Ice

Learning Outcomes- Students were able to:
  • Work cooperatively in small groups to observe the process of sublimation
  • Develop hypotheses on the composition of dry ice 
  • Identify that dry ice sublimes more rapidly when submerged in hot water compared to cold
  • 90% of students could differentiate between melting, sublimation, and evaporation
  •  Identify the chemical formula for dry ice - CO2(s) - and regular ice - H2O(s)
Instructor's Notes: 

There were high participation rates, with many students asking questions during the demonstration. They were more interested in real-life applications so we discussed how scientists and engineers use carbon dioxide in fire extinguishers. This information will be critical in a future challenge where the students are asked to put out a fire without touching the flame or blowing on it. The students will have some materials, including baking soda and vinegar. If they mix these items, it will produce carbon dioxide gas and put out the flame immediately without pouring the solution in it. Many students requested samples of the experiment. I encouraged them to conduct small science experiments at home with their parent’s supervision.  


Name of Out-of-School-Time Provider: Target Excellence

Name of District: Twin Rivers Unified

Name of School Site: Morey Avenue

Grade Level of Activity: Kindergarten

Number of students who took part in the activity: 6

Type of Activity: Milk Rainbows

Learning Outcomes- Students were able to:
  • Understand that all substances (e.g. water, milk, etc.) have a layer/skin on top called surface tension
  •  Understand the difference between substances that dissolve in water (hydrophilic) and substances that do not (hydrophobic)
  •  Know that some insects crawl on water due to surface tension, a very important property of water
  • Differentiate between the different colors forming
Instructor's Notes: 

Students really enjoyed watching all the different colors forming in two different trays. Almost all of them immediately wanted to try it by themselves and they shared that they would love to try this activity at their home as it is very simple and uses just the food colors, milk and dish soap. I also had everyone identify and then spell all the colors that they saw.


Name of Out-of-School-Time Provider: Sacramento Chinese Community Service
                                                                   Center

Name of District: Sacramento City Unified

Name of School Site: Nicholas Elementary

Grade Level of Activity: K-6

Number of students who took part in the activity: 20

Type of Activity: School Garden

On September 13, 2013, volunteers from NationWide Insurance decended upon Nicholas Elementary to break ground on a school garden as a part of the United Way Capital California Region’s Day of Caring.

Four and a half hours of digging, building garden beds, and shoveling dirt created an interactive outdoor classroom that will benefit both regular-day and after school instruction. This garden will allow Nicholas Elementary to:

1. Enhance academic instruction during the school day through project based learning. 

2. Help encourage healthy eating by exposing students to home grown healthy foods.

3. Provide a location for parents and students to work side by side engaging in a healthy activity by harvesting healthy foods.

Thank you to the volunteers from NationWide Insurance, United Way California Capital Region, SCUSD and SCCSC!





Name of Out-of-School-Time Provider: Sacramento Chinese Community Service
                                                                   Center

Name of District: Sacramento City Unified

Name of School Site: Luther Burbank High School

Grade Level of Activity: 9th - 12th Grade

Number of students who took part in the activity: 20

Type of Activity: School Newspaper and Website

The Luther Burbank High School newspaper, the Titan Ledger, is now being written and produced by one of the ASSETs classes. Advised by John Hull, the school's media teacher and himself a former journalist, the Ledger staff is publishing stories and photographs online.

The Titan Ledger (found at http://titanledger.blogspot.com) keeps the community up to date with the events, the special classes and the positive accomplishments by the students of Luther Burbank. Students not only are learning journalism, but also are becoming excellent photographers.

The class helped to re-build the school's website in late September and now keeps the information on the website fresh. Now the Luther Burbank website (http://lutherburbank.scusd.edu) is a wealth of information and resources for students and parents alike.

STEM Articles/Videos: 

a) Head Start pushing for more math and science instruction

b) UCD program brings robots and math to Sacramento Schools

c) Equipping Science for the 21st Century

STEM Activities/Websites:

a) Computer Science Education Week December 9-15, 2013

b) California Career Zone Website

c) Sally Ride Science


STEM Professional Development Opportunities:

a) CCSS: Literacy in Science online professional learning module (K-12 Teachers)

b) California STEM Summit 2014

STEM Grants:

a) Tellabs Foundation
    Website: Tellabs
    Program: Education, STEM, Environmental Quality, Health
    Maximum Grant: Not Specified
    Deadline: 12/31/13

b) Vistex Foundation
    Website: Vistex
    Program: Education, Food, Agriculture, Nutrition, Health
    Maximum Grant: Not Specified
    Deadline: 12/31/13

c) Wish You Well Foundation
    Website: Wish You Well
    Program: Education
    Maximum Grant: $10,000
    Deadline: 12/31/13

d) Applied Materials Foundation
    Website: Applied Materials Foundation
    Program: Education
    Maximum Grant: $2,500+
    Deadline: Anytime

e) Free Health Booklets and Pamphlets

f) Free Baseball and Softball Equipment
    Open: December 1, 2013

g) MOUSE Squad of California
    Deadline: November 15, 2013








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