STEAM Exhibition and ArtWorks Twenty Fifteen

On the evening of Wednesday, May 20, all of Chandler School students’ creative, technological and artistic efforts were on display for the entire community at the annual STEAM Exhibition and ArtWorks Twenty Fifteen.

 

At this event family and friends gathered to view student artwork of all grades in the Ahmanson Foundation Performing Arts Center, enjoy musical interludes in the Rothenberg Family Courtyard and journey into classrooms to see each classes’ STEAM project.

 

Students were able to give a special hands-on look at the culmination of all their hard work in an interactive way.

 

Here’s a quick look at the outstanding projects:

 

Engineering Through the Fairy Tales: Students used Blockify to design castles and created 3D printed models with catapults, pulleys and parachutes.

 

They performed fairy tales and recorded them. Using a QR code, parents were able to access their videos.

 

Legos houses were created for The Three Little Pigs; Rapunzel’s Tower was constructed using paper and tape; and bridges were built for the Gingerbread Man, using toothpicks, marshmallows and gumdrops. Castles were also constructed form cardboard.

Blast off to Space!: Students incorporated research into PowerPoint presentations with space definitions and illustrations of the solar system. They made movies using iStopMotion, telling original tales about packing a suitcase to take to space while meeting weight and size limitations.

 

Space vehicles and characters were created in addition to Lego models and a collaboratively designed mural.

 

Dinosaurs Inside and Out!: Second graders acted as paleontologists, making dinosaur bones, models and unique skeletons from research on prehistoric animals and life on Earth. Models were constructed using Strawbees and Connectx rods and orbs.

 

Using iPads, the students compared and contrasted dinosaurs during various periods. Math was used to compare scale, ratio balance, measurement, mass, geometry size and weight.

 

Create a Continent: Students studied landforms, ecosystems, deforestation, animal life, oceanography, volcanoes and climate change, as part of exploring continent life.

 

Google Earth, iPads, Culturegrams, Google Presentation and National Geographic were used to explore continents and landforms. Students also used Tinkercad to generate 3D landmarks that they fabricated on the 3D printer.

 

Students studied scale, longitude, latitude, population graphs, gross national product charts, measurement, and time zones.

 

Wagon Train Design: Students built historically accurate, scaled models of covered wagons using classrooms materials. Fabrics were tested for saturation, stretching, sinking, heating and drying.

 

Computer games were designed using the programming language Scratch, which challenged players to move wagons toward gold. Students also created cattle brands out of rubber stamps.

 

Bridges: Students built several types of bridges using paper, Popsicle sticks and K’NEX parts. Testing and research was completed for weight, tension and compression on 46 famous bridges from across the globe.

 

Engineering is integrated in the structure and design of the four types of bridges. Students generated supply lists, purchasing the bulk of the resources from Trash for Teaching.

 

Engineering a Solar Car: Students used their knowledge of renewable resources and global climate change to understand the need for alternative energies and learned how a solar panel turns energy from the sun into electricity to power their cars.

 

They designed, built, tested and modified engines, machines and structures. The idea was to create cars that are fast, accurate and can go uphill. Students calculated the ideal gear ratio and the speed of their car based on distance and time measurements. 

 

A print advertisement was created with the goal of compelling the viewer to buy their car.

 

Voltworks: Students demonstrated a transfer of energy by designing a bike stand that would suspend a back wheel in air, so a v-belt could be attached. Their bike pedals generated enough energy to charge a laptop. Using Sketch-Up, they created a 3D model and were required to create scaled blueprints. They also designed a logo, website and marketing for the final product.

 

Move: This STEAM group used physics to build a conveyor belt. Through careful measurements, wooden blocks were chosen and assembled. A cloth conveyor belt was sewn together and painted.

 

Students graphically designed and scaled cylinders and created a 3D printed prototype. Marketing efforts included a website, PowerPoint and a commercial.

 

Algebra and trigonometry were used to make blueprints with every measurement calculated to scales for prototyping.

 

Solaird: Students demonstrated the transfer of solar energy and discussed the efficacy of renewable energy. Students built a scale model gym. Engineered fan blades were designed using SketchUp and then 3D printed and required a tremendous amount of prototyping, measuring, cutting with wood and plastic.

 

Students created a logo, website and designed blueprints for this project.

 

Trendy Vendy: Students demonstrated a transfer of electrical energy to make the machine work. They learned to wire circuits in order to allow a button push to drop an item from the machine. Students engineered a physical model of the vending machine using wood and plastic. Their designs and 3D printed pieces were created using SketchUp.

 

Students created a logo, designed a website and painted the model of the machine. Every measurement was calculated to scale for prototyping.

 

Party in a Box: These students created a “Party in a Box” that demonstrated multiple ways of transferring energy. Students designed simple machines and discussed physics when deciding how the box was to open.

 

Students learned to wire circuits and program a pressure sensor that would allow the box to open. Building the box involved prototyping, measuring, cutting and re-cutting wood and plastic was engineered to open, turn on a disco light and play music.

 

Students also designed a website and created advertisements in iMovie for the product.

 

Miniature Golf Installation: Students calculated the mass, force, acceleration and deceleration of a golf ball using appropriate formulas. Time measurements were taken with stop watches.

 

Students documented and modeled their creations on a website and using digital cameras, iMovie, and SketchUp. Students incorporated circuits, sound and lighting into the installation.

 

They also designed each course to include a possible “hole in one” and paper and digital brochures in Spanish and English.