Junior Scientists Take On STEMQuest Challenge
During the STEMQuest Challenge, fourth and fifth graders dedicate an entire day to STEM problem-solving and collaboration.
Fourth and fifth graders recently put their science knowledge and communication skills to work during the STEMQuest Challenge Day, applying what they know to new concepts and hands-on experiences.
Working in groups, fourth-grade scientists tackled three challenges:
- Highlander Power Grid asked students to learn about different energy sources and consider what a sustainable future might look like, observing and describing how energy moves from one place to another.
- Highlander Signal Corps introduced the concept of patterns as a communication tool. Students modeled physical waves and decoded digital signals, exploring how data travels across vast distances, even to a Lunar Base.
- In Highlander Energy Chain, a systems engineering challenge, groups were tasked with building a continuous system that transfers kinetic energy through a series of objects. Along the way, they had to power a city, manage a budget, shift from fuel-based to renewable energy sources, and respond to emergency repairs.
Fifth grade scientists worked together to accomplish a different set of missions.
- Highlander Bio-Dome called on students to engineer a self-sustaining ecosystem, balancing the one-way flow of energy and the infinite recycling of matter. The goal was to build an ecosystem where nothing enters and nothing leaves, except light.
- Highlander Matter Mystery was a challenge centered around forensic chemistry. Students were challenged to identify, locate, and contain a reactive powder by triggering a controlled reaction in a closed system, then use digital scales to verify the Law of Conservation of Mass.
- Highlander Solar Sustainability Summit had students modeling Earth's rotation to pinpoint Solar Noon, the exact moment when light concentration is greatest and energy harvest is at its peak.
These challenge days wouldn't have been possible without the collaboration of our classroom teachers. We're grateful to the 4th and 5th grade team of Mrs. Culliton, Mrs. Ghic, Mrs. Kruger, Ms. Azul, Mr. Chilton, and Mr. Eleby, as well as Mrs. Osborne, Ms. Crossman, and Mrs. Hunt, all of whom helped bring the STEMQuest challenges to life. Students and teachers worked side by side on missions that required communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, all skills that will serve students well beyond the science classroom.
