ABOUT THE EVENT
On January 29th 2025, the Poly STEM Outreach held a STEAM Night with Arlington Elementary School and Poly Robotics Club. We worked with different elementary students from Arlington.
WHAT DID WE DO?
The Poly STEM Outreach Club recently held another exciting and educational event, bringing interactive STEM experiences to a large group of eager students. With a team of 14 dedicated club members—including three members from the robotics team—the club organized and ran four engaging activity stations: Mathopoly, Egyptian Tech, Oobleck, and Strawberry DNA Extraction. The event successfully combined fun and learning, creating an environment where students could explore STEM concepts in a hands-on and memorable way.
At the Strawberry DNA station, three club members led students through a step-by-step experiment to extract DNA from strawberries. This activity introduced students to basic laboratory techniques and helped them understand the structure and importance of DNA. With guidance from the club members, students were thrilled to see the DNA appear before their eyes. The goal of this activity was to give students a real-world science experience and a glimpse into what it’s like to work in a lab setting. The experiment was a clear success, leaving students both fascinated and proud of their results.
The Mathopoly station brought a creative twist to traditional math practice. Students were divided into pairs and played a Monopoly-style board game where progress depended on solving math problems. Each time a group landed on a property or question mark space, they were given a math problem tailored to their curriculum. The team with the most money at the end of the game won. This activity was not only fun and engaging, but also educational, helping students reinforce key math skills. Feedback from both parents and students was overwhelmingly positive, making this one of the most successful stations of the day.
In the Egyptian Tech activity, two club members demonstrated the use of a pulley system, showing students how simple machines were used in ancient times—and are still relevant today. Students had the opportunity to interact with the pulley and learn about the mechanics behind how it works. This station was especially popular, as many students found the demonstration exciting and informative. The purpose of this activity was to highlight basic engineering principles through a historical lens, showing how science and technology have evolved.
The Oobleck station, run by three club members, explored the fascinating world of non-Newtonian fluids. Using just cornstarch and water, students created their own oobleck and learned how it behaves like both a solid and a liquid depending on pressure. Although this was the messiest station by far, it was also one of the most loved. Students had fun squishing, poking, and playing with the oobleck while learning about fluid dynamics in an accessible and exciting way.
Throughout the event, raffle prizes and STEM activity books were handed out between activity rotations, adding another layer of excitement and takeaway learning for students.
In conclusion, the event was a huge success. A large number of students attended and enthusiastically participated in the activities. According to post-event surveys, both students and parents found the event educational, fun, and engaging. Club members also enjoyed themselves, proud of the positive impact they made.
MISSION SUCCESS!
