(Halloween) STEM Challenge #7: Bones bridge!

Hello!!!

Here there is another (Halloween) STEM Challenge:

"Build the longest and strongest possible BONES BRIDGE."

Pupils were given 25 minutes and the following material:

At first, they found the challenge pretty hard. It was difficult to build a stable bridge and capable of supporting weight.

Pupils needed some extra advice. So, they watched the following video and we talked about it in class:

The next day, all the groups improved their bridges. Look:

6th A Bridges

6th B Bridges

(Halloween) STEM Challenge #6: Spider-catcher!

Hello, everyone!

He-heeeee, it's Halloweeeen!!!!!

STEM Challenges are always great. They help develop our students' building skills, group-work abilities or design thinking, among other capacities.

This week, taking advantage of Halloween, we decided to challenge our pupils the following way:

"Design and build a SPIDER CATCHER".

We can assure that it is more difficult than it seems!

Pupils were given the following material:

In small groups, they had 20 minutes to build a spider catcher with a surface of 25x25cm. 

Once they got the Catcher (or after 20 minutes), a member of another group should throw spiders all over the device. Then, pupils should raise it carefully and see how many spiders remained caught:

Halloween Science!!!

Good morning!!!

We are very excited to announce that Halloween is coming!!!

So, we decided to adapt our STEM Challenges to this festival!

Cristina brought a Pumpkin Lantern in class. In case you want to do it at home, here you can watch the instructions. Have fun!

STEM Challenge #5: Map your brain!

Hi, children!

In 3rd Grade, we are learning about our senses, so this challenge is focused on the sense of TOUCH.

We wanted to know which body parts are more sensitive and we found an experiment developed by Dr. Rebekah Corlew and Theo Walker of the Fitzpatrick Lab at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. This experiment is called The Homunculus Mapper.

https://www.maxplanckflorida.org/fitzpatricklab/homunculus/ 

First, we made this card:

Then, in pairs, we took measurements:

1. The tested pupil should close their eyes. 
2. The tester pupil should press 2 points of the card against the skin of the subject and ask if they feel one point or two points. The tested body parts are: HEAD, BACK, ARMS, HANDS, LEGS and FEET.
3. Start with the largest distance and keep testing smaller and smaller distances until the subject indicates that they feel one point.
4. Record these distances. 
5. Enter these numbers on brainmapper.org.

Finally, we entered our results on the web. The more sensitive parts looked larger and the less sensitive parts looked smaller. This is how "our brain thinks we are". For example:

It was an interesting experiment and very easy to do at home ;)

How old are your ears? (3rd Grade)

Hello 3rd Grade!

As promised, I share here the video watched in class, in which we tested our sense of hearing.

Try to do it at home and also test your family!

What's Inside Nutella? (4th Grade)

Hello, 4th Grade!

Do you remember the experiment we did about the sugar in drinks?

Well, now let's watch the following video, in which the real ingredients of Nutella® are analysed:

Again, this remember us that we have to eat OILS - FATS and SWEETS in moderation. 

Bones (6th Grade)

Hello children!

Two weeks ago, pupils were asked to bring bones in class. Attention! These bones had to be cooked, cleaned and frozen, for our safety work.

Once we had all the bones (most of them, chicken bones), we classified them into 3 groups:

LONG - SHORT - FLAT

After that, we broke a bone to see what it has inside: THE BONE MARROW; responsible for making blood cells.

Then, we put some bones in a jar full of white vinegar, and we waited for 2 weeks.

What happened to the bones when we opened the jars after 2 weeks?

We found out that bones could be easily bended! But, why?

Vinegar is an acid, so it dissolves away the calcium in the bones. When the calcium is dissolved, the bone isn't hard.

This is the reason why it is so important to eat calcium (milk, yoghurt, cheese,...). The calcium we eat, goes to our bones and makes them stronger.

STEM Challenge #4: Protecting your sight!

Hi, everyone!

After learning about the sense of sight (parts of the eye, functions, etc.), we challenged our 3rd Grade students with a new STEM challenge:

"Create a device to protect your eyes from the sun and sweat". 

Criteria and restrictions:

• You must be able to see perfectly.
• You can not touch the device while wearing it.
• You can only use the materials provided.

Building time: 40 minutes.

Materials:

First day:

Second day:

Rethink your drink (4th Grade)

Good afternoon!

They say that "a picture is worth a thousand words":

Isn't it shocking?

In 4th Grade we have analysed the sugar that the common drinks contain. We are sure that the next time we drink a juice for breakfast or we are invited to a party, we will think twice before having that drink...

Food Pyramid on the floor (4th Grade)

Hello, everyone!

Eating a variety of foods (as well as doing exercise) is the key point to be healthy. This is what we are discussing these days in 4th Grade.

Last week, we decided to make a huge Food Pyramid on the floor:

We classified some food into the different groups: GRAIN - FRUITS AND VEGETABLES - MEAT AND FISH - DIARY AND EGGS - OILS, FATS AND SWEETS.

After, we learnt which nutrients each of these groups gives us.

Blood components (5th Grade)

Hello!

In 5th Grade, we made a blood model, in order to see the different components of blood:

We used some candy for:

- RED BLOOD CELLS, which carry the oxygen and the carbon dioxide thorough the body. They make 40% of the blood, so we made sure we added plenty of them.

- WHITE BLOOD CELLS, which protect our bodies from bacteria and microbes. There are fewer that the previous ones, so we used only a little of them.

- PLATELETS: which stop the bleeding in a wound.

- PLASMA: we used water but, in fact, we might have used another liquid because plasma is yellow.

It was easy and very visual. Are you going to do it at home using other ingredients???

"Evolution" game (6th Grade)

Hello children!

How are you?

In 6th Grade, we are learning the Musculoskeletal System (bones, muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons, etc.). Isaac, a pupil from 6th B, suggested us an online game which is closely related to this topic.

This game is called Evolution:

You can use the web to play: CLICK HERE

Or download its App, either on Google Play: CLICK HERE, or iTunes: CLICK HERE