The Curiosity Cube Comes to Bobier Elementary

A special event is coming to Bobier Elementary School in the Vista Unified School District that will give students a unique opportunity to delve deeper into science.

The Curiosity Cube is an immersive science learning structure housed in a customized shipping container; it will visit and engage students at the school on Friday, March 13.

The Cube is the brainchild and creation of leading biotech/life science company MilliporeSigma. They designed and sponsored the project to help inspire the next generation of scientists and encourage interest in STEM-based careers.

The Curiosity Cube supports science education through various STEM programs and organizations worldwide. The mobile science lab has already visited schools, summer camps, parks, festivals, and museums throughout North America, Europe, and Africa. It has so far reached over 230,000 students across 14 countries, with a particular focus on Title 1 schools.

Growing Students' Interest in Science
Ten scientists from the company will guide Bobier’s 180 fourth and fifth-graders through the Cube’s offerings, which include interactive, hands-on science experiments designed to spark curiosity and introduce a raft of possibilities for interested students.

Different stations with hands-on experiments will be set up inside. There will be a maximum of 30 students at one time to control the flow, with each group going in for 45 minutes.

Bobier Principal Melanie Paliotti describes her excitement at the school making the list: “We want our students to think bigger and broader. It will help them question what they are interested in and then think, ‘here's a job I could potentially do someday’. It’s going to be a really awesome day for our students.”

The Curiosity Cube initiative closely aligns with the district’s RIASEC program, which looks beyond strengths to help students identify their actual interests and see the future possibilities associated with them. It also coincides with Bobier’s recent math and science progress.

“We've been really focused on math this year with our Math Transformations,” says Paliotti. “As a result, when I ask kids what the best part of their day was or what they love about school, ‘Math’ is the answer! Not pizza day, lunch, or recess.

“The kids are now seeing themselves as successful at math and are very engaged with it. They have been really excited about our after-school clubs for STEM and STEAM fields, like Lego Robotics.”

Discovering Science Earlier
Paliotti explains that as students’ curiosity is sparked earlier, they form a habit of asking questions like, “Why do things work the way they do? If I take this apart and put it back together, will it still work? What makes the plant or bird do the things that they do?”

“Children come in with such curiosity in elementary school,” she says. “But by the time we get them through the grade levels, it's been squashed, and they're just looking for the right answer instead of a really good question.

“And one of the best parts is discussing it with your classmates or table group – asking, How did you come to that answer? What process did you use, and what was your thinking? Can you explain? So, then they say, Oh, I didn't think of it that way. I tried it this way.

“We want our students to see themselves in the future of what they could be. Thinking they are successful with math and science is the first step, and then just keeping that curiosity and being interested in it.”

Opening Up Possibilities
Paliotti emphasizes San Diego’s plethora of biotech companies that could be students’ future employers, with a global company like MilliporeSigma having offices in Carlsbad, Temecula, and San Diego.

Meanwhile, the Curiosity Cube is on hand to help inspire questions and provide the opportunity to dig deeper. The Cube has a different theme every year, with this year's being predominantly focused on hands-on science through biology. “I don't know what next year will bring, but hopefully we can have them back,” concludes Paliotti. “I'm already applying!”