KINGS — The students and staff of Kings School enjoyed a full day of STEAM exploration Jan. 19.
Students in grades kindergarten through eighth were heterogeneously grouped into five teams and traveled throughout the building engaging in STEAM-based activities and related team building exercises. Staff members from all grades and content areas fascilitated the activities, which were designed to challenge the students with hands-on opportunities to strengthen their skills in science, technology, engineering, art, and math, as well as provide the chance to practice life skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, and respect.
The day’s primary focus was coding, and the students were able to build new skills through the use of Ozobots (which respond to specific color-coded instructions), a programmable mouse in search of “cheese,” and computer-based activities via Code.org and Scratch.

“I liked making the path for the mouse,” first grader Preston Taylor said.
Additional activities included the design and testing of human-powered Puff Mobiles, the collaborative creation of an artistically-recycled skyline, the challenge of building the tallest tower from recyclable materials, and a very messy adventure with oobleck.

“I liked the Oobleck the most because it felt like slime but was more like a solid,” fifth grader Jacob Ost said.
The students enjoyed the day.
“I liked the cardboard box tower building. I learned that if you wanted to make it taller, you would need a bigger base. My group tried to make it the same size all the way up so it wouldn’t tip over,” sixth grader Anna Toczylowski said.