The Liberty Twp. school’s new STEAM lab opened earlier this month and the hands-on learning center is just the third such lab in the Lakota district to teach grade school students science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
Zeelyna Mbuagbaw and Jada Womack were recently huddled over their tiny Lego bridge, which under their STEAM assignment must be built according to certain rules and under a budget of $10,000 with each Lego brick costing toward that total.
“We get to do some fun activities here,” said Mbuagbaw during a brief pause from her STEAM project.
“It’s a huge game-changer for our students because it’s completely tactile by bringing the real world into the classroom,” said Greg Finke, Independence principal.
Other projects include learning computer coding to manipulate a tiny, battery powered rolling robot along a set course and developing new packaging for candy.
Independence is the latest Lakota school this school year to launch the STEAM instruction.
“The STEAM labs are a new model we’re beginning to introduce in Lakota’s elementary schools. In the younger grade levels, it’s just one example of our work to modernize the curriculum and introduce more advanced technologies into the learning process, across multiple subject areas,” said Lakota spokeswoman Lauren Boettcher.
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