STEAM Day at Taylor

5th grade students show off their reimagined Thanksgiving dinner plats.

3rd graders work with Katy DeKraai to work on developing a new ice cream flavor.

5th graders tackled their projects using some of the piles of cardboard collected for STEAM Day over the past few weeks.

Kindergarten students proudly showed off their hole in one project.

This idea is a hole in one!

Just a sample of the raw materials used to fuel the imagination of Taylor students.

Most of the STEAM Day projects were collaborative.

Kindergarten students learned about the guidelines for creating their own ice cream flavor from Ann Heidig, Taylor kindergarten teacher

First you come up with innovative ideas for new ice cream flavors.

3rd graders came up with some new ideas for ice cream flavors.

Students were tasked with making 3-D models of their ice cream creations.

Holy cow, this looks delicious!

This ice cream treat is made with air dry modeling clay and is topped off with a cherry.

Taylor students showed their problem-solving prowess during this year’s first STEAM Day activities held on November 25.

STEAM Day at Taylor is a day dedicated to solving four different problems across the school, each one calling upon students to practice their 4C’s: creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.

With the help of many parent volunteers, classrooms transformed into mini maker labs. Students from all grade levels used crayons, tape, modeling clay, paper, markers, paint, cardboard and copious amounts of imagination to bring their ideas to life.

The Day’s Problems

Creativity & Communication: Sharing K.I.D.S.
Students worked on problems around being Taylor Tigers through sharing K.I.D.S. (Kind, Inclusive, Determined, Safe) in our community.  Students created banners and cards, painted rocks, and wrote positive notes to be shared.

Collaboration & Critical Thinking: Hole in One
Teams of students planned and designed models for mini golf holes for a Taylor Mini Golf Course.

Collaboration & Creativity: Ice Cream Design Lab
Students with this problem worked as a team to explore the ice cream flavor design process and develop a new ice cream flavor.  The upper grade students assigned to this problem also developed a novelty ice cream treat to go with their flavor.

Critical Thinking and Creativity: Incredible Inventions
Students in grades 3 through 5 were tasked with solving two invention problems: design a new sustainability cap for coke bottles; and collaborate on designing and building the next best toy.

A seasonal bonus assignment asked students to create a thanksgiving dinner menu that didn’t include serving turkey.