Victoriano Elementary Students Lead Parents in STEM Fair

Students in kindergarten through fifth grades were the ones teaching earlier this month, when Victoriano Elementary School held its school-wide STEM fair, Dec. 12. Elementary school students led parents in several scientific discovery lessons, hands-on demonstrations of scientific principals taught at Victoriano Elementary School, at the first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) K-5 school in the Val Verde Unified School District. Concurrently, there was also a technology showcase and robotics demonstrations in the school's library and multipurpose rooms, while science fair winners displayed their award-winning projects as well. The fair attracted about 1,000 visitors. "For an elementary school, that's a large attendance," said Principal Caryn Lewis. Students had also returned earlier this school year from the first annual STEM symposium in Sacramento, where the school was one of the only elementary schools to participate. The school is currently in year two of the STEM model program, which Lewis said focuses on teaching students the material through hands-on experiences, rather than only learning theoretically. "Our staff and students are transitioning into this model and we're also engaging parents in that learning," she said. "We're really trying to promote a more 21st Century, hands-on learning model and that's the difference between knowing something and then applying that knowledge to everyday life. It's very exciting to see our students do it. Even at 5 years old, these students were leading parents and taking them through the (scientific) process, and the parents were loving it." Each grade level led adult visitors through various scientific principals: kindergarteners demonstrated magnetism and explained why magnets are attracted to certain objects; first graders led the discussion in the differences between solids, liquids and gases and how one can distinguish each form of matter based on its properties; second graders discussed gravity and whether the mass of an object impacts gravity as it falls to the ground; third graders led the discussion of applied forces and which forces move objects; fourth grade students led parents in understanding electromagnetic energy and electromagnetic fields; and fifth graders led demonstrations in chemical reactions and what causes them to happen. The goal of the STEM learning model is to prepare students for further learning and understanding in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, by building a foundation and gradually adding to it, Lewis said. "We are definitely building on performance," she said. "The Next Generation Science Standards are new and it places students on a continuum of performance expectations. You really build (on your knowledge) as you move on." The STEM Fair is an annual event the school puts on.