New Ro Summer STEAM Academy Launches Hot Air Balloons

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — What better way for students interested in the sciences to hone their skills during the summer than putting them to good use doing experiments. From creating hot air balloons to solar powered vehicles, students in the Summer STEAM Academy held at Trinity Elementary School used what they already know about science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics to learn even more.

Take hot air balloons for example. At first, the hot air balloons lifted just a few feet off the propane furnace in the far corner of the school grounds. But with a couple of tweaks, the students in the academy improved their design; and soon, and the colorful tissue-paper spheres lifted to the tree tops.

"When something happens that you don't expect, try and do it a different way," said student Rejan Paracha, who finished fifth grade at Columbus Elementary School in June.

Part of the learning experience is that if things don't go as planned, that doesn't mean you failed.

"You just found a way that didn't work on your way to finding out what does work," said Diane Delgado, who coordinates the five-week academy with fellow teacher Ann Marie Manganiello.

The recent balloon lift was a project of the two upper classes, with students who will enter fifth or sixth grade in September. In all, the program is teaching about 150 students from the Trinity, Columbus and Jefferson elementary schools and the Henry Barnard Early Childhood Center. The youngest are about to enter first grade.

Their projects included solar-powered cars, rockets propelled by jolts of air and more. On a visit to the New Rochelle High School planetarium, they named constellations in the night sky. They took a nature walk and gathered treasures from the ground — chunks of wood, rocks, a sprig of leaves — that they built into habitat dioramas in cardboard boxes.

They made friends with a mini-menagerie brought by a naturalist from The Nature of Things, an educational center in North Salem. The creatures included a red-tail boa, a bearded dragon and an Arizona blond tarantula.

"My favorite was the chinchilla," said Nya Mejia, who is about to enter first grade at Trinity. "It's so cute!"

The program is supported by Title I ESSA funds, a federal program that promotes literacy.

"The STEAM Academy is an effective springboard for enriching students' literary skills by connecting written materials with real, hands-on science and engineering and enhancing their critical thinking skills," said Tiara Reyes-Vega, Director of Instructional Support.

The balloon lift was led by teachers Scott Misner and Ron Schoenherr, who operated the small furnace. Trinity students Elisse Tomlinson, Sameen Choundhary and Ricardo Mendoza created one of the balloons that didn't lift very high on the first shot. When they widened the opening so that it could lift more easily off the furnace's frame, it became airborne.

"It just took off and it went super high," said Choundhary, who will enter sixth grade in September.

“You have to make some adjustments,” said Tomlinson, who is entering fifth grade. “You never give up.”

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