The Elementary Schools of Penn-Trafford School District conduct periodic 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.
January’s Junkbox War was called ‘Rolling into the New Year.’ Students were challenged to create a ramp to accommodate different-sized balls that rolled down and jumped or landed in a cup or basket. Harrison Park Elementary Student Learning Assistant Mr. Brundrett commented, “There were big ramps, small ramps, and there was one group that tried to make a loop-de-loop.”
Winners were named from each grade level, and the students enjoyed the educational and interactive project.
Level Green kindergartener, Ethan Miller, constructs his ramp
Trafford Elementary 5th-graders Bailey McRae and Sophia Gill collaborate to build a ramp
Harrison Park 1st-graders, Vincent Ciccone and Dominik Cianciotti
Sunrise 4th-graders Josiah Panuccio and Roman Navarrete
Harrison Park 1st-graders Alayna Swanson and Isla Scott formulate a plan for their ramp
Level Green 3rd-graders, Kaylie Sabo and Jase Sims
Sunrise 2nd-graders Ryland Armstrong, Landon Cicco, and Lillian Salsgiver
Trafford Elementary 2nd-graders Sebastian Raulic and Dante Scarpine test their ramp
McCullough kindergarteners Maci Harris, Blake Diamond, and Aria Churilla show off their completed ramp
Sunrise 5th-grader Alex Shenk tests out his group’s ramp, while the class watches him make the winning roll with the marble