STEM Superheroes at McRae Elementary

Superhero STEM Day was a great event for the community. We helped the staff of McRae Elementary to teach kindergartners about engineering. I helped with a station called “Reverse Engineering.” We got a bunch of old electronics and tore them apart to teach the kids about what goes into engineering, one of which was a projector. They referred to me as “Miss Sienna.” And of course, they were all excited to break things. With a few surprises here and there, the students as young as they were, understood and performed very well. The students were very engaged and interested in what the teachers had to say.

There were seven total stations. The one pictured below with my teammate Theo was from the “Skype Room.” In this room the students played games and had learning exercises over Skype with students at another school in Searcy. At Superhero STEM there were many great opportunities to reach out to the students who are interested in pursuing their futures with FIRST.

Following the Superhero STEM Day, Kristi Smith, the math coach at McRae Elementary, sent us this message:

“WOW!!! Words are inadequate for expressing my sincere appreciation for all the hard work you all put in to make Superhero STEM Day for kindergarten a huge success. The kids are still talking about it this morning.

“Thank you for your help and for being patient with me as it was my first year and a learning experience for sure! I appreciate how you all just monitored and adjusted if needed and ran with it.

“Also, the way you packed up and cleaned up was phenomenal. I pray each of you has a wonderful week, and know that last Friday only happened because of YOU!!! You are amazing!” --Kristi Smith