The 17 students in Mrs. Melody’s STEM class, a new Middle School elective offered this fall, built models of bridges and rollercoasters in December as they learned the fundamentals of structural engineering. The students have been working in teams since September, learning how to apply mathematical and scientific concepts to real life, hands-on projects.
“The students have been very excited and engaged in their projects,” Mrs. Melody said. “In our unit on structural engineering, they learned about kinetic and potential energy and the cause and effect when energy is transferred.” Students on one team used a kit to build a suspension bridge. Below at right is a photo of that bridge, with the students who built it, from left: Billy Winkel, Elliott Parker, Josiah Christmon, Raquel Mitchell, and Colton Carney. Another team, pictured below left, built a roller coaster from the kit. The members of that team, from left, were: Autumn Loo, Liam Larkin, Steven Nixon, and David O’Donnell.
Earlier in the semester, the students worked on several other projects during class. For a unit on robotics, students built a soccer goalkeeper, a forklift, and a printer. In a unit on programming, the students used a computer to program a virtual rover landing on Mars, using the Gizmo online simulation lab.
Melody said the STEM class, which meets three times a week, will be offered as a Middle School elective next semester.
