It’s National STEM Day, and Buncombe County Schools is celebrating our future-focused programs that get kids thinking analytically.
On Oct. 28, W.D. Williams Elementary School second graders took a field trip to the Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS), where they studied dazzling rocks and minerals, uncovered hidden fossils, absorbed a detailed diorama of the water cycle, got blown away by a hurricane simulator, and used household materials to build anemometers – devices that measure wind speed and direction.
“We’re studying change right now, and a big part of that is weather,” said second grade teacher Mercedes Gonzalez. “So this pairs very well with our classroom learning about weather and weather tools.”
The AMOS STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Lab was a familiar sight to the second graders. Along with other elementary-aged Buncombe County Schools students, they have their very own STEM Lab at school. There, classroom lessons become hands-on puzzles that challenge the students to think collaboratively and use the Engineering Design Process – Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve.
“They already know what scientists do, and they’re able to imagine themselves doing science,” Ms. Gonzalez said. “They’re advanced in their knowledge, and they’re able to learn in different ways.”
To learn more about how BCS supports STEM learning from kindergarten through graduation, visit buncombeschools.org/stem.
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