Christmas STEAM

The Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room was magically transformed into Santa’s workshop where students engaged in various Christmas STEAM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). From science experiments to engineering challenges, each of the 9 stations were led by the wonderful staff at RIS along with some great Middle School helpers.

At Ms. Katie’s station, Ramps and Sleigh, students put their ingenuity to the test by creating a makeshift sleigh that would safely carry presents down a ramp. Even Santa would be impressed with these creative inventions. 

Christmas Lights, manned by none other than Mr. Tor, students learned how to connect wires to a battery to create a simple circuit with the end goal of turning on a light bulb. This segues perfectly to the last unit of the year – Energy!

Next up was Binary Ornament, Ms. Sherwynne’s station. Through the utilization of coding language, students created a candy cane ornament. What a great way to review informational processing from our ‘Waves and Waves System’ science unit. 

Championing the Snowball Catapult station, Ms. Jenny got the students to put on their engineering helmet and build a catapult. The challenge was to see who could launch a cotton ball the furthest.

Ms. Mina demonstrated what would happen when you mix water, oil and Alka Seltzer at the Christmas Lava Lamp station. Magical ingredients were added to a bottle, and each student was provided an Alka Seltzer so that they could try this chemical reaction experiment at home.

The Rudolph Race Station was all about engineering. Mr. Rick assisted students in designing a device that would transport a paper-towel Rudolph across a string. At the end, the students had a blast challenging each other in what could be dubbed as the most epic showdown of the year.

At Ms. Jaffray’s station, Paper Art, the students were introduced to the intricacies of paper art and learned how to create beautiful art from paper. The students learned a fun way to transform something so simple into something so magical. 

And last but not least, a huge shout out to the Middle School volunteers who helmed the Snowflake Geoboard station! It was there that the students made works of art while practicing important geometry skills such as symmetry and lines. The Grade 4 students had a blast and cannot wait to continue doing more amazing and collaborative activities as a grade level!