STEM Lab Opens at St. John the Baptist School

What’s happening in the new STEM lab at St. John School?

Fourth grade students are re-creating California missions in a way that is utterly new to their school: designing them using TinkerCad and then using a 3-D printer to build everything from churches to fountains to livestock and more. Second graders are learning how to engineer structures like bridges and ferris wheels using K’Nex sets. Fifth graders are creating scale models of the school using a “lego wall.” Students in middle school will soon be building and coding their own robots. The STEM lab at St. John’s started the year as a computer lab in need of some updating. Through the generosity and vision of parents and staff, the computer lab was transformed in just a few months into a center for exploring, thinking, creating, and problem-solving in multiple disciplines. During Catholic Schools Week, parents and visitors were able to see the completed STEM lab for the first time, and the lab was blessed by Rev. Ritche Bueza, on Wednesday, Feb. 1st. Teachers can use the lab space with their classes as well checking out some of the wide variety of equipment and materials for use in their classrooms. For the students, the lab is proving to be an exciting place to learn, and it will add great support to the science curriculum when the Next Generation Science Standards become the norm next school year.

St. John the Baptist School is located at 360 S. Abel Street in Milpitas.