May 2, 2016 at 4:14 p.m.
Out of this world: Nativity students board STEM shuttle, reach for the stars
Out of this world: Nativity students board STEM shuttle, reach for the stars
By Kayla Thomason-
The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education) shuttle - a tour bus - had stations where students could replicate tasks astronauts perform and learn about the stars, ozone layer and more. Students in grades three through five spent an hour exploring space.
"We studied space quite a while ago and it's always one of the more popular units," said Ann Zemski, fourth-grade teacher.
This is the first time the shuttle has been to the school and the students couldn't contain their excitement over its arrival.
Sharon Ryan, science teacher and developer of the program, said textbooks are great and give the students knowledge, but after a lesson students often wonder what they can do with the new information.
This program offers hands-on learning.
"They get to see it and go 'Oh, wow, that's why, that's what it's about, that's pretty cool,'" she said. "It's to get kids at this age motivated about the possibilities out there."
Ryan added that she hopes the shuttle experience will motivate students to keep learning.
"We keep kids excited about school, this is a motivation," she said. "If you can get them motivated they'll want to learn more and get an interest in something so it's introducing them at this age because that's where it becomes important."
One station that captured the students' interest was Robo, an adorable blue robot that saves people trapped under rubble by picking up on the victim's voice vibrations.
"One thing that's neat about this is that it can detect things that we haven't been able to and in this case it's a sound, a noise," Ryan said.
Another station that excited the students was experiencing how an astronaut captures a satellite to repair it and send it back into space. They controlled a device with "pincers" to reach up and out to grab a golf ball - symbolizing the satellite - and drop it in a bucket.
At the Ozone Layer station they saw photos of the earth in the 1970s, '80s and '90s and noted how big the hole in the ozone layer has become.
The students also learned about different types of energy such as solar panels and heated oxygen molecules.
At another station the students wore thick winter gloves to mimic the astronauts' gloves and built a vehicle for Mars.
Student Garrett Younker said he thought the shuttle was going to be a normal tour bus and was thrilled to have interactive stations.
"It's just astronomical that I like it," he said.
He really enjoyed controlling the robot that can grab a shuttle, Robo and the constellations.
"It's really fun because I really didn't know that they had this stuff and it's really fun to look at it and have a hands-on experience," he said.
Mason Baker also enjoyed his time in the shuttle.
"I think it's a very good experience and I like how everything is more hands-on," he said.
He liked Robo and hopes the shuttle will make a stop at the school again.
"I think it's a great experience for kids to have and it's really fun," he said.
Owen Ives liked the constellation station and was grateful for the opportunity to broaden his knowledge of outer space.
"It's really important to me and our class (to have this experience)," he said.
The Dream Flight USA STEM Shuttle was created in 2006 and has primarily visited places in Wisconsin but has been branching out into surrounding states.
For more information on the shuttle, visit www. stemshuttle.com.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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