Students at North Ridge and Westwind look forward to the end of the day, when they get to participate in the after-school STEM Club. College students in the STEMCORE Program at Texas Tech University help run the club and provide all materials to enrich and expose the students to STEM lessons. The Club helps foster hands-on learning with TEKS aligned with building projects, conducting experiments, and solving real world problems.
Students in 3rd-5th grade get to put their critical thinking skills, team building skills, and problem-solving skills to the test outside of their typical classroom routines.
Westwind Communities in Schools Coordinator, Ma’at Blackwell, helps facilitate the club at Westwind and shares the fun projects they’ve completed so far.
“Some of the activities they have been able to do so far are building lava lamps, homemade bouncy balls, makeshift gliders, slime, and this week they made catapults,” said Blackwell.
Students at Westwind have really enjoyed doing different projects and spending time with their classmates and Texas Tech students.
“My favorite thing about STEM Club is making things with my friends," said Austyn Ybarra, a 5th grade student. “My favorite things about the STEM Club are making all the projects and hanging out with the teachers (student mentors)," added Jakobi Garza, 5th grade student.
The STEM Club has brought students from different grade levels together, fostering teamwork and collaboration in a fun and creative way.
“It has been amazing getting to watch the students learn to work together; a lot of them did not know each other prior to the club because they are in different grades. They all really enjoy building things together and engaging in some healthy competition,” said Blackwell.
Students at North Ridge are exploring their passions and discovering new skills and interests through engaging, creative projects.
“I joined the STEM Club because I wanted to learn more about science,” said Luca Quintero, 5th grade student. “I want to be a builder in the future and right now in the STEM Club, we are working on building stuff. I want to learn more about how to build things.”
Giuliana Yost, another 5th grade student at North Ridge looks forward to the new activities each week.
“My favorite thing about the STEM Club is that we get to learn new and exciting projects every week,” said Yost.
North Ridge 4th grade student Gentry Hanks shared the joy of combining learning and friendship in the STEM Club, “My favorite thing about the STEM Club is getting to make experiments with my best friend.”
The STEM Club has quickly become a favorite among students, providing a space to explore science in exciting and interactive ways.
“The club offers them the opportunity to really get creative and requires them to use knowledge they’ve gained from their science teachers in hands-on experiments,” said Blackwell. “The students have embraced the club wholeheartedly and are already eager for it to return next semester/ school year.”
Awesome work, students!