EDITED NEWSLETTER VOLUME 5 A.Y. 2024-2025 (3)

NEWS | VOLUME V

STEAM Week 2024: Explore, Experiment, Elevate

Mattea Moreno

Southville International School and Colleges (SISC)–Munich Campus conducted its two-day STEAM Week on October 16 to 17, 2024, featuring interactive booths, experiments, and robotics competitions aligned with the themes “Empowering Our Planet and Cultivating Tomorrow’s Leaders to Innovate Today for a Greener Tomorrow” and G.I.D.E.S (Giftedness through Interdisciplinary Educational Strategies). The event gathered students in various hands-on activities integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

Math Society Booths The Math Society hosted a series of games and challenges that aimed to test the students’ mathematical skills especially with the highly sought after Three-Level Math Challenge with the following levels: the first level is a math-powered jigsaw puzzle that had students matching math problems to their answers. The second level requires students to arrange seven geometric shapes to fit an exact outline (tougher than it sounds!). And the third and final level was a rubik’s cube challenge where participants raced to align all sides after moderators scrambled it.

Additionally, the booths hosted math jenga, a fun spin on the classic game, where students solved math problems within 60 seconds as they pulled out blocks. If the tower toppled, the game was over, adding a “high stakes” element to each move. Other activities include the Tower of Hanoi, Sudoku, Spot It, and Damath.

Bath Bomb Making The creation of bath bombs was another experiment that put chemistry into work. Similar to the classic volcano experiment, bath bombs are a result of an acid-base experiment from the sodium bicarbonate and citric acid. From the name itself, bath bombs, when dropped into water, fizz and dissolve to release bubbles, colors, and scents.

3D Printer display 3D Printer on Display was very popular among students, who watched their digital designs being made into reality onscreen. By using 3D printing technology, the students had fun creating designs that combined

(almost)

all spheres: engineering, design and art. The demonstration was a display of technology that also inspired creativity and ingenuity.

VR Goggles Showcase Students dove into virtual worlds, exploring immersive videos and games. The VR experience showed how technology could transport them to new places and experiences without ever leaving the room.

AI Rock, Paper, Scissors The Coder’s Club modified the traditional game of rock, paper, scissors by having students play against a computer. To make this work, students must first wave at the screen for the computer to detect them. Afterwards, students must gesture their hands in a steady position and the computer will select its choice. The mechanics of regular rock, paper, scissors follows, but the game overall demonstrates the engaging integration of technology.

Sumo Bot and Soccer Bot Tournaments The crowd expressed their excitement as the students strategized their moves in the event’s main attraction: the Sumo Bot and Soccer Bot Tournament. Sumo Bots and Soccer Bots are well known robots geared for competition. In the Sumo Bot battle, two students from opposite teams must maneuver the programmed robots to push their opponents out of the ring. The Soccer Bot tournament on the other hand simulates a real soccer match, with students grouped into threes filling in different roles to pass the ball and score goals.

NYHA Robotics Booth The NYHA Robotics Booth was also opened for the students to explore. NYHA Robotics specialized in sumobots, but they also developed remote controlled robots and repurposed them to form a catapult to play a game called Tic-Tac- Shoot. The mechanics of the game are simple: you launch a lego-like brick using a catapult to form a line either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, just like in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe.

Overall, this year’s STEAM Week event has provided the students with several opportunities to immerse themselves in the fields of science, mathematics, and arts. Through these activities, the learners were able to experience and apply their knowledge in real life scenarios and foster their creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.