STEAM Day Makes Math and Science Fun for 700 Participants

The Scarsdale Middle School was awhirl in activity on STEAM Day on Saturday November 19 when the PT Council in collaboration with the school PTA's, teachers, district administrators and the Scarsdale Schools Education Foundation produced an ambitious day of STEAM activities and workshops for kids of all ages.

The program was expanded this year to include workshops for 4th through 8th graders, as well as engaging activities for the younger set, and whole families spent an entertaining day learning about robotics, genetics, circuits, 3D printing, coding and building a giant contraption to create a chain reaction. Kids were on the floor building and even de-constructing complex machines. Over 700 kids and parents attended.

The Discovery Room in Gyms A and B and the Makerspace in Gyms C and D offered opportunities for all students, while older students attended a series of workshops that turned science and math into fun. Fox Meadow Principal Duncan Wilson presented his own version of "Escape the Room," challenging students to use logic and math to piece together clues to open locks and solve a crime. Other workshops involved building a model of a skyscraper, building a model airplane that actually flies and creating color-changing chemical reactions. There was more on coding, probability and even relative time travel.

In the Great Hall at the upper entrance to the school, Nerdy Derby constructed a fifty foot race track, where kids raced cars they built by themselves. RFID chips were attached to each car so that the owner knew when it crossed the finish line. This activity was funded by a grant from the Scarsdale Schools Education Foundation.

The day concluded with Jeff Boyer's Bubble Trouble show which combined creative and crazy bubble feats with a lesson in the science behind bubbles. The SMS auditorium was filled with kids, parents and teachers.

Everywhere you looked, kids were engaged and excited, demonstrating how making and doing creates memorable educational experiences.

Commenting on the day, Event Co-Chairs Kathleen Campbell and Seema Jaggi said, "The attendance exceeded our expectations. The feedback has been very positive, and we were so pleased that the community responded to the opportunity to attend the event as a family. We were fortunate to have an excellent and dedicated corps of parent volunteers on the planning committee, working together with the support of faculty, administration and staff on every level. We also had the very generous financial support of the Scarsdale Schools Education Foundation and many donations-in-kind from workshop leaders and presenters, enabling the PT Council STEAM Committee to bring quality programming and activities to the event."

They thanked everyone, saying, "We had an amazing committee of women working on this. We cannot say enough about the dedication of these women to bringing a quality program to the entire community. I think that is something that people don't necessarily appreciate - that this event was staffed, planned, and executed almost entirely by volunteers. The District was also very generous in its permissive use of the Middle School, its Technology Team and the outstanding and professional help of the SMS custodians led by Rob Schweit. Those SMS custodians are absolutely THE BEST!! They make it happen with a smile."

01/12