STEM & Blossom: October

Welcome back to STEM and Blossom - A monthly newsletter for all things STEM and Innovation related here at Hallinan! Anticipate seeing a Monthly STEM and Blossom Newsletter via Hawk Squawk, but don't forget to follow along on the adventures, creations and curiosities of the iLab by following STEM_and_Blossom on Instagram!

My name is Nickie Doran and I am the K-5 STEM and Innovation Facilitator in our BEAUTIFUL Innovation Lab here at Hallinan! Please click the button below to get to know me a bit better!

As always, if you ever have any questions, comments or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out! I love chatting with you and all things STEM!

Best,

Nickie Doran

Dorann@loswego.k12.or.us

The iLab schedule is unique in nature as we see one class for a week at a time. Ask your child if they know what "Cycle" they are so you know their STEM weeks! Remember, when it is their STEM week, their class will come in every day of the week, allowing us more depth and breadth for our grade-specific projects! Having this schedule is a dream for me; this makes STEM and Innovation time that much more precious, student-focused and less "activity" driven! It is so special!

The cycle continues throughout the year, with the exception of conference weeks where classes have "drop in" STEM times. Please see our regular schedule below!

• Cycle 1 (or Group A) begins 10/31-11/4
• Cycle 2 (or Group B) begins 11/7-11/10
• Cycle 3 (or Group C) begins 11/14-18

• Kindergarten: Force and Motion Games Students will learn about things that we push, things that we pull, things that we push and pull! We will also explore GRAVITY and FRICTION! Students will create a blueprint of a game that shows Force and Motion. They have the option to create a Knockdown Game or a Marble Maze! So fun!

• 1st: Seeing Sounds & Make an Instrument Please note the iPad days! We will begin our week exploring sound vocabulary and making music on Garage Band! We will explore the concept of how we can SEE SOUND! (so neat!). Students will then create a plan to build either a string or percussion instrument using Makers materials and then will bring their ideas to life!

• 2nd: Animal Habitats and Behaviors with Robots Please note the iPads day! Students will start their week researching fun facts and the habitat of an animal of their choice using Kiddle and/or Epic. 2nd teachers, please send me your Epic codes if you have them! Pairs will then create a plan for how they can show their chosen animals' habitat and behaviors using robotics! We will discuss how to display various behaviors (Does your animal run fast? What does your animal do when it sees a predator? Where does your animal find food?) using Cubettos, Dashs or Colby Robots! So fun!

• 3rd: Fossil Museum (though there is no 3rd next week - I wanted to give you a heads up!) Students will study and explore the John Day Fossil Beds and become experts on an area that the group chooses. They will study the climate, plants and animals that existed millions of years ago! As a team, they will then explore Tinkercad, our 3D printing platform, to create a "fossil" of their choice. We will then use Plaster of Paris and Clay to create a "real" fossil! All students will walk away from STEM this week with a 3D printed fossil as well as a plaster version! In addition, teams will create a museum display, along with a fossil info card to share with their class for presentation day!

• 4th: Chicken Wing Dissection and Prosthetic Engineering Connecting to 4th grade's Mystery Science, we will begin our week with a chicken wing dissection and explore bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments! Following our dissection, students will create a blueprint and plan to create a prosthetic of their choice with their group! This is such a fun week for the 4ths full of hands on, applicable and meaningful learning!

• 5th: Owl Pellet Dissection & Owl Models with SAM Labs! 5ths have now all had their first experience exploring SAM Labs, inputs, outputs and coding behaviors! We start our week with owl pellet dissection and make connections to our Mystery Science concept 'The Web of Life." As trios or quads, teams will explore owl pellets and collect data on their findings. Following this, students will create a plan for how they can use SAM Labs to mimic an owl behavior! Will they use SAM Labs to get their owl model to turn its head 270 degrees? Or perhaps they might use light sensors to display their excellent night vision? Maybe a Servo Motor comes into play as they develop a system to show wingspan?! Possibilities are endless and I can't wait to see what they create!

Email: dorann@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.instagram.com/stem_and_blossom/
Location: Hallinan Elementary School, Hawthorne Drive, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 534-2353
Twitter: @nickie_doran