WESTHAMPTON — Westhampton Elementary School student Anna Cleary gathered with her fellow fourth graders last Thursday morning in one of their new favorite classes, learning how to build and program a “cave car.”
“This is my favorite subject because I get to build things,” she said while programming her Lego car to shine different colored lights.
The new STEAM program stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math, seeking to give students in grades K-6 hands-on learning experiences. The class is new to Westhampton this year, and STEAM teacher Stewart Clark says it has quickly become a favorite.
“This introduces engaging, hands-on activities that require creativity to find solutions through engineering and troubleshooting,” he said.
On Thursday, Clark led Cleary and her peers to program their cars to shine different colors from the front headlights of their cars, which they built out of Lego bricks the week before. Clark explained a small-cube called the “hub” is attached and acts as the brain of the cars that are controlled remotely by students from their laptops. The hub is similar to a Bluetooth connection allowing students to choose from a variety of colors and fulfill many other actions.
Clark said this is just one example of the many projects students are working on in this class. Other students are working on attaching a sensor to their cars, that makes it stop when an object is detected in its path.
“Even at the youngest levels, they can explore, create and curate different projects,” he said, explaining kindergarteners have been putting together train tracks that use sensors that trigger audio signals.
The STEAM class is an extension of the previous STEM and technology class, which used to be offered only six weeks out of the entire school year. STEAM has now been added as one of the “specials” — classes that occur once a week such as gym and art.
“STEAM is probably my favorite,” fourth grader Orin Kinsinger said about the different specials. “I just like making stuff.”
A key factor of the class encourages collaborative work and learning. For the cave car project, students work in pairs to build and program the cars, taking turns as the builder and the Lego-piece finder.
“The kids are thrilled about it,” Westhampton Elementary Principal Andrea McGrath said about the new class.
Over the summer, the school renovated its library to share space with the “STEAM Lab,” the space where class is held. Inside the lab, visitors can see many tools and projects students are working on including Lego projects, train tracks, a 3-D printer and more.
“It has just kind of taken on its own spirit since opening,” said McGrath.
The funding for the tools in the lab including the Lego kits and other equipment comes from the STEAM Equipment and Professional Development Program through the Massachusetts Life Science Center (MLSC). The MLSC is a company that has invested more than $28.5 million in equipment and professional development funding in 325 schools throughout Massachusetts. Efforts to secure the funding were spearheaded by Michael Fredette, the director of curriculum and instruction for the Hampshire Regional School District (HRSD).
“For two small schools, it’s hard to fit that into the budget …” McGrath said about trying to secure funding for the program. “But when we collaborate with New Hingham it makes it easier during tough times.”
McGrath said part of the program aims to boost career development for students, helping them find different passions at a young age. She explained the school district is hoping to expand STEAM to HRSD so students can continue to learn through the program after the sixth grade. She feels if students completely stop STEAM classes at that age, then it may stifle their interest in the skills being taught.
“I love the enthusiasm that kids bring to the table and that is amplified when teaching this class,” said Clark.
