CHPS Office of Technology & Innovative Learning

06/30/2025

Get ready to race into action with this week's exciting STEM challenge: Building your very own balloon car! 🎈🚗

This project is a fantastic way to explore principles of physics, like Newton's Laws of Motion, propulsion, and aerodynamics – all while creating a vehicle powered by nothing but air! You'll be amazed at how simple materials can be used to create something that really moves.

Ready to get your wheels spinning? Find ideas for materials and instructions right here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/balloon-car

Once your balloon car is built and ready for the track, we want to see it in action! Share photos or videos of your car speeding across the floor. What design choices did you make to make it go faster or further? Tell us about your test runs!

Build a balloon car from recycled materials in this fun STEM activity.

06/26/2025

We had an amazing start to our computer science camp thanks to Jodi Balido, Global Fire Safety Manager from The LEGO Group! Jodi visited the middle school on Tuesday to share insights into his career in STEM.

Our students were excited as they learned the entire process of how LEGO bricks are created, from concept to completion. They asked fantastic questions about the building process and the critical role of fire safety. It was a great way to kick off our camp!

Fun Fact: The new LEGO factory in Chesterfield is so massive, it could fit 90 soccer fields inside!

06/23/2025

Get ready for a week of squishy, stretchy, gooey fun because this week's STEM project is all about making your own slime! 🧪✨

Making slime is more than just fun; it's a fantastic hands-on way to explore chemistry and the amazing properties of polymers. You'll be mixing, stirring, and watching as everyday ingredients transform into a wonderfully unique material!

Find all the ingredients and instructions you need right here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/how-to-make-slime

Once you've whipped up your batches of awesome slime, we want to see them! Share photos or videos of your creations in action. What colors did you choose? Did you add glitter or beads? Tell us about your favorite part of the slime-making process!

Learn how to make homemade slime in this fun STEM activity!

06/16/2025

Get ready for some thrilling engineering this week as we challenge you to build your very own roller coaster at home! 🎢

This project is a fantastic way to explore physics concepts like gravity, kinetic energy, and potential energy – all while having a blast designing and testing your creation.

Ready to get started on your design? Find ideas for materials and instructions right here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/paper-roller-coaster

Once your roller coaster is complete, we want to see it in action! Share photos or videos of your marbles zooming through twists, turns, and drops. Tell us about the challenges you faced and how you solved them!

Build a paper roller coaster in this fun science activity that demonstrates kinetic and potential energy.

06/09/2025

Are you ready for some sweet STEM this week?

Get ready to beat the summer heat with a delicious and fun project: Make your own ice cream in a bag! 🍦

This is a fantastic way to explore chemistry and states of matter, all while creating a yummy treat. You'll be amazed at how simple it is to turn a few basic ingredients into creamy ice cream with just a little shaking and science!

We've got everything you need to get started right here:

Make ice cream in a bag easily in just a few minutes while exploring how salt changes the freezing point of water.

06/05/2025

06/02/2025

Summer STEM fun is officially taking flight! 🚀

Each Monday during the summer, we'll be sharing a fun STEM project you can complete at home with the family.

This week's challenge: Design and create your very own paper airplane!

Need some inspiration? Check out this link for ideas: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/paper-airplanes-aerodynamics

Once your planes are ready for takeoff, we want to see them in action! Share pics and videos of your awesome airplanes soaring through the air in the comments below! 👇

BONUS CHALLENGE: Want to take your paper airplane game to the next level? Learn how to build your own paper airplane launcher here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/paper-airplane-launcher

Investigate whether the distance a paper plane flies is affected by increasing how much drag it experiences.

05/30/2025

First graders in Ms. Blakely's class are becoming conservation heroes AND coding whizzes! 🌎♻️

Last week, they reviewed natural resources and how to conserve them with Mrs. K. They even tackled an unplugged coding activity, "debugging" their way to pick up all recyclables for the recycling center! So proud of their teamwork and problem-solving skills!

05/22/2025

What better way to explore ecosystems than to watch them in real time? That’s exactly what Mrs. Neece’s fifth grade class did recently with Dr. Acchione and Mrs. Kliebenstein! After reviewing vocabulary, students explored different live animal webcams from around the world to see those words in action!

Sites like explore.org give you a real-life view of animals around the world. We highly recommend checking it out as a family to explore animal habitats on your own! Let us know your favorites in the comments.

🦅 Dr. Acchione’s pick - The eagle cams
🐱 Mrs. Kliebenstein’s pick - The cat cams

05/21/2025

Dr. Acchione and Mrs. Kliebenstein teamed up during the months of April and May to deliver science station activities for 5th graders in preparation for their Science SOL test.

They visited all three elementary schools, where students were able to:

⚡️Create electric circuit simulations
🐝 Review vocabulary using Bee-Bots
🔎 Uncover clues in an epic escape room

It was a great way to reinforce those key concepts and make science come alive!

05/14/2025