Third Grade SEVs...More Pictures

The third grade SEV project continues in our Science classroom. As you can see, lots of great making is going on.

Here are some very clever ways our students came up with to attach wheels and axles to their vehicles so they can have a moving part.

The hot glue guns help make this build possible.

All stages of building are still going on as we come down to the last two making sessions.

Here are some almost finished SEVs and their blueprints.

Third Grade Space Exploration Vehicles Take Shape

In the 4th semester, our 3rd grade science class takes to the sky as they students learn all about space. One of the favorite projects is the creation of SEVs (Space Exploration Vehicles). Students research planets and have to design and create a SEV that will either land and explore the planet or circle above it and collect data. 

Each student must create a project sheet and a blueprint of their SEV, which has to be approved by "NASA" (our 3rd grade science teacher), before they can build. Building materials are recycled objects including plastic containers, laser cut wood remnants, and various other things collected from home. 

This is the first installment of the SEV project this year. It's always great to see where they start... We'll add pictures of their creations as the weeks go on. You'll be amazed at the final project.

First Grade Fairy Tale STEM Project

Every year, our first grade classes study fairy tales and finish the unit with a fairy tail festival. Parents are invited and they are able to share all that they have learned. This year, the teachers wanted to try to incorporate some STEM into the unit and they found this project. 

They read a play about Rumpelstiltskin and the Queen that shows the difference between having a growth mindset ("I can do it") vs a fixed mindset ("I can't do it"). Following the design process, the students work to create a musical instrument for Rumpelstiltskin. They collect ideas, create an action plan, test & modify the creation, and reflect. 

First version: rubber bands around a cup but the cup collapsed.

Redesigned version: made a box, reinforced it with paper towel rolls.

Upper School Design and Fabrication Class Builds for Lower School Classroom

'Iolani's Sullivan Center for Innovation and Leadership offers numerous classes for our Upper School students. A number of them are run out of the makerspace. One of these classes, Design and Fabrication, looks for real-world problems for the students to take on. This project came from the need in the Lower School to have standing desks. Check out this video to see the whole story.

Standing Up for Innovation

Third Grade Mini-Society

Third Grade Mini-Society

Check out what our third graders have been up to this spring. A whole unit of study that includes social studies, math, entrepreneurship, making and more.