Who says learning can’t be fun?!
At the October Todd County Board of Education meeting fourth grade students from South Todd Elementary competed with teachers and TCBOE Members to vie in the Spaghetti Marshmallow Challenge. The challenge was part of the instructional spotlight for the monthly meeting, highlighting instructional activities at South Todd Elementary. The activity is just one of the many activities completed by students on Fridays, working in the STEAM lab at STES. The Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) lab helps students to explore the design process, learn to work through failure and develop team building skills.
The basic idea of the Spaghetti Marshmallow Challenge is that a team is given a handful of supplies to work with — spaghetti, tape, and string. Working with their given supplies and following rules and constraints of the project, students are given 18 minutes to build the tallest possible tower that can SUPPORT a marshmallow. This project and many other activities provided in the STEAM lab encourages the design mindset and supports basic engineering principles.
Students, teachers, board members and parents enjoyed the activity, as well as the instruction and collaboration of the staff at South Todd Elementary School.