FREEPORT, IL. – Creative thinking, hands-on problem solving, critical reasoning—these are just some of the skills seventh and eighth grade students at Pearl City Middle School used on Friday, April 29. Staff from the University of Illinois Extension brought four different STEM activities for students to learn from. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math. This curriculum gives students the opportunity to actively participate while learning. Together, with U of I Extension staff, students were separated into four smaller groups and rotated through completing the different STEM activities. These included making lava lamps out of oil, water and Alka seltzer tablets; making rockets and sending them off with a mission to reach a target; building a tower out of pasta noodles and marshmallows and seeing if the tower could handle a load; and problem-solving cues and puzzles to open an escape box!
“Critical thinking and reasoning is such an important life skill for youth to be able to utilize and apply throughout their lives. Our Extension staff tried to fine cleaver activities that required the kids to use critical thinking and problem solving in such a disguised way that the kids were solving issues while having a ton of fun,” says Brenda Heimann, Stephenson County 4-H and Youth Development Program Coordinator. “It was great to get back into the classroom settings again and be able to reach out to area youth in the county. While a lot of the programming I do is centered around 4-H, it isn’t my only focus. Another vital role is working with school-age youth and educational programming, just like these STEM activities.”
For more information on 4-H and Youth Development in Stephenson County, contact Brenda Heimann at 815-235-4125 or by email at bheimann@illinois.edu.
Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in program and employment. If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in programming, contact the program coordinator. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time for meeting your needs.