Is there really iron in my breakfast cereal? Can we use solar power to cook? How does the digestive system work? Does Wi-Fi affect living things?
Those questions and many more were answered by the bright students at the St. Anselm Catholic Academy – SACA STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math) Fair, which was held in Meletia Hall on April 19th. Parents, children, and guests gathered around the exhibits to listen as the young researchers discussed their findings. Some exhibits even offered an opportunity for a hands-on learning experience as well. The STEM Fair also provided a wonderful opportunity for younger students to interact with and learn from their older counterparts.
Each of the classes in grades PreK-3 through Third provided a class research project which was hosted by student representatives while upper grade students presented their individual or group projects. Topics included the formation of secondary colors, how food moves along the digestive system, searching for the presence of iron in breakfast cereal, determining whether tall buildings can be constructed safely, and the effects of Wi-Fi on plants. The students explained their research question, methodology, discussed or demonstrated their work and then presented their findings along with implications for everyday life.
A Fair like this is a tremendous amount of work and there are many to thank: the families for supplying the material to complete the projects, the SACA teachers for fostering the skills necessary to complete the research, Mr. McKeon for his support and encouragement, the SACA STEM Committee (Mrs. Downey, Mrs. Cronin, Mrs.Torre, and Ms. Capotorto) for their work in the selection process, Mrs. Deem (the STEM Coordinator) and finally the participants whose hard work and fascinating research projects gave us much to think about. Congratulations and thanks to you all. We can’t wait for next year!
All the best,
The St. Anselm Publicity Committee