Harbor City Elementary
The first event at Harbor City Elementary was held on March 28, 2019. Below are some highlights of the morning with the snap circuits activity! The students learned about the basic principles of circuits and were able to apply the knowledge in this project.
Specifications of Pen Factory activity. Each group was awarded points at the end based on how closely the product aligned with the criteria/requirements.
Central Florida STEM for Kids is proud to continue their partnership with Harbor City Elementary. The second event was held on September 20, 2019. The students learned some important lessons about the importance of teamwork and efficiency for successful engineering projects through the Pen Factory activity. To end the morning, the students also built towers from the given materials of popsicle sticks and masking tape.
On October 25, 2019, the students at Harbor City Elementary programmed a rover to maneuver through an obstacle course and deliver a final message, such as “I want my candy prize!” We first discussed the definition of coding and taught the students basic math skills required for the activity (e.g. turning 90 degrees, unit conversions, measurement). The students then formed groups of two. Each group was given a rover, a measuring tape, and a sheet to record measurements and prepare code. The students were guided to create and save a sound file on their rover. Then, each group took measurements of the obstacle course to subsequently code. Students learned about the importance of perseverance and patience. In the end, all of the ten groups successfully completed the activity!
To culminate the semester and in spirit of the holiday season, students built their personalized take-home magnetic motion machines on December 13, 2019!
First, a presentation was given to the students regarding electromagnetism and some applications of magnetic fields (i.e. permanent magnets, current-carrying wires and Earth’s magnetic field).
Then, the team introduced the kids to the activity. The kids decorated their laser cut parts, applied their measuring skills, glued the three small magnets and the penny, put electrical tape on the pen, and watched magnetic fields in action. During the process, the kids also learned about the importance of correct orientation of the magnets for the functionality of the machine. What a fun-filled day!
Central Florida STEM for Kids began the new year at Harbor City Elementary with an Egg Drop activity! Student formed into group of three and created a mechanism to protect their egg. However, the students were also given certain constraints, including a budget of $5.00 and number of certain resources that can be used. Each contraption was dropped from the same height; three eggs survived, one egg slightly cracked, and three eggs shattered. Everyone agreed about the importance of both design and cost analysis in engineering!
To end the morning, the students participated in a modified version of Charades and completed a tower building activity using Popsicle sticks and tape.
