Using STEM to Solve Problems

Each winter, Mrs. Florence Manguiat, the Academy’s middle school science teacher, challenges her students to observe the world around them and solve the problems they see. The students in grades 6 through 8 spend about a month on an extensive project to solve a problem that they have observed.

In order to complete the project, each student identifies an everyday problem that directly impacts them, their family, or the greater community. They have to brainstorm and invent a solution to the problem using science, technology, engineering, or math - STEM principles. Next, they research how to design, manufacture, and/or produce their solution. If they are able to construct an actual working model, they are required to field-test it. During the process the students also have to provide a detailed explanation of the science, technology, engineering, or math behind their invention and include all sources of research.

At this point in time, the middle schoolers are about halfway through their projects. Most of the students are in the testing phase of their solutions to solve some very timely problems. Some students are focusing on the poor or elderly. One student is designing shoes that are both sturdy yet pliable enough to stretch so that children in impoverished countries do not go without shoes when they outgrow a pair. Another student is designing a wi-fi enabled watch that can monitor a person’s heart rate and notify emergency responders if the heart rate goes too low. Some students are focusing on efficiency issues such as a phone charger that uses the kinetic energy created by a person moving during the day. Another student is designing a tidy way to clean the dirty paws of a pet.

At the end of the month, the very best of these projects will be showcased at the Academy STEM fair on Wednesday, February 1 at 6:30pm. Please join us to celebrate our future scientists!

Please join us at our Open House, Sunday, January 29th at 11:45 AM and Thursday, February, 2nd at 6:30 PM.

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