STEM: Creativity, Critical Thinking & Innovation

Creativity, critical thinking, and innovation develop best when students are challenged with rich, open-ended tasks. Students need to be comfortable working and creating in an environment where the answers are not always straightforward, and outcomes may be unknown. This ability requires students to employ their creativity, work in teams, learn to fail safely, be self-motivated, synthesize knowledge, and create new knowledge.

A well-designed curriculum supported by a well-designed space can create and foster these learning opportunities. Our two state-of-the-art Design Labs are the perfect spaces for learning and innovation. Fully equipped with tools and materials, these flexible work areas have everything students need to put their imaginations to work. 

Robot Parade

What's better than robots? Robots in costumes! Students enjoyed creating costumes for their mini robots, which they paraded in a line on the table. The robots were programmed to follow a line marked on the table, and the students enjoyed seeing them march in formation.

Robot Parade

Build a Bot

Middle School students built robots from scratch using the MBot step-by-step instructions. It was an excellent way for the students to learn about robotic mechanical and electronic parts and get an introduction to block-based programming to operate their robots.

Build-a-Bot

Thinking Outside of the Box

Junior Kindergarten students were asked to think outside the box (literally) in STEM class. They were given pieces of paper with a simple box and had to use their imaginations to create something out of it. It was great to see all the creative ideas.

Outside Box

All About Bugs

Our Preschool and Junior Kindergarten classes read the book "Little Miss Spider" and learned about different kinds of bugs. They then ventured into the woods on campus and looked for bugs. They were excited to find and identify so many insects!

Bug SearchBox

Building a Straw House

Lower School students were challenged to build a structure with no more than 20 straws. Their teacher then tested the strength of each structure, gradually adding weight to see which one could withstand the most pressure.

Straw House

State of Matter

Our 2nd graders wrapped up their states of matter unit in science, and their teachers surprised them with a fun experiment! Using protective gloves, their teacher placed dry ice in an enclosed container filled with water and closed the lid. Inside the container and emerged in the water, the dry ice quickly sublimated into gas. The gas was then forced out through the container's attached tube in gas form. As an even more remarkable effect using bubble solution, their teachers created gas bubbles that dissipated upon impact. This was such a fun experiment for our students!

State of Matter
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Spike-Prime-Robot

Competitive Robotics

In the spring of 2025, students will use Spike Prime robots to battle it out in exciting in-house competitions!  Looking ahead to the fall of 2025, 5th and 6th graders will represent our school in the First Lego League, taking on regional challengers! Meanwhile, 7th-8th graders will level up with REV robots in the high-stakes First Tech Challenge, also against regional challengers.

Each spring, students in grades 5-7 gather in the gymnasium for the annual science fair. The students display the projects they have worked hard on for many weeks before the event. They present their findings to parents, students, faculty, and staff who walk around and visit each one. The projects are judged, and the students gather for the awards ceremony.