Harrison Park Elementary School conducts monthly STEAM projects called “Junk Box Wars.”
STEAM activities incorporate science, technology, engineering, art, and math into one lesson. The Junk Box Wars projects encourage students to use their scientific knowledge to create and design a device. Students in kindergarten through fifth-grade work with a partner and are given a design challenge and a bag of “junk” to create a device that solves a specified task.
December’s Junkbox War was called ‘Santa’s Sleigh,’ and was spearheaded by sub-teacher Mr. Michael Barnes. Students were tasked with building a sleigh that could hold the maximum number of presents and get to the rooftop the quickest. Each group of students received a bottle cap, rubber bands, tongue depressors, cotton swabs, a notecard, pipe cleaners, paper clips, straws, toothpicks, and a roll of tape.
Winners were named from each grade level, and the students enjoyed the educational and interactive project.
3rd-graders Ari Cianciotti, Abby Strasser, and Josie Probst begin work on their sleigh
3rd-graders Lucas Antonucci and Bradley Lentz
3rd-graders Griffin Mutzabaugh and Derek Nguyen hold their finished sleigh
2nd-graders Alyona Krowchak and Juna Rodgers put the finishing touches on their project
2nd-graders Jocelyn Zollner and Kassidy Savering
2nd-graders Landon Flebotte and Jeffrey Bick