Bourne Public Schools Students Participate in STEM Week

Bourne Public Schools students recently participated in STEM Week. (Photo courtesy Bourne Public Schools)

BOURNE — Superintendent Kerri Anne Quinlan-Zhou is pleased to share that Bourne Public Schools students recently participated in STEM Week.

Bourne Public Schools’ STEM Week took place Oct. 21-25. During the week, students in all schools in grades PreK-12 participated in different activities related to science, technology, engineering, and math. 

Students at Bournedale Elementary and Intermediate Schools took part in daily STEM-themed announcements, displays, and activities. Elementary students received a “STEM Bag” containing five activities and supplies.

Activities included solving prompts such as helping Johnny Appleseed design a tool to plant more seeds with less work, an Acorn Harvest to help animals gather more nuts — students created a bag that can carry more than the animal’s cheeks can hold, and designing a scarecrow that stands on its own and successfully scares away crows. Students used the tools from the bags, including coffee filters, straws, pipe cleaners, craft sticks, and rubber bands, to complete the activities. Elementary Curriculum Director Lisa Dix oversaw the hands-on learning exercises.

“STEM Week was such an exciting time for our students,” Director Dix said. “They really enjoyed each activity and had a blast building their creations.”

Some activities were a collaboration between schools, including a day where high school students and eighth-graders visited fourth-grade students to help them make slime. High school science teacher Breanne Aflague and middle school science teacher Shaunna Aflague organized the activity. A video of the Cascading Slime Inquiry can be seen here.

Students in grades 6-12 took part in STEM Week by participating in an exploding pumpkin demonstration. The demonstration involved combining two compounds inside of a pumpkin to create a flammable gas to ignite. The pieces of the pre-carved pumpkin exploded into the crowd of students, making for a fun and festive educational experiment. 

Students learned about lab safety and responsibility before creating exploding pumpkin demonstrations. This demonstration enforces the importance of lab safety when combining chemicals to achieve specific chemical reactions, like combustion or fire. The demonstration gave students a hands-on and engaging experience. They discussed exothermic/heat-producing chemical reactions in addition to learning about pressure and gas laws. Students were encouraged to think critically and hypothesize about the outcomes of these chemical reactions with respect to types of energy emitted.

“STEM Week was a successful opportunity for all Bourne students to explore science and technology in new ways,” Superintendent Quinlan-Zhou said. “It was wonderful to see the different schools collaborate on scientific activities to learn as one. I want to thank all the educators who helped make this week so fun and informative for the students.”

Throughout STEM Week, educators participated in two high-profile professional development conferences. BPS educators also attended and presented at the MASSCue Conference at Patriots Place in Foxborough. Additionally, a team of BPS teachers was selected to participate in the Day of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab to kick off a multi-part exploration of AI in education.

To learn more about the statewide observance of STEM Week, click here.

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During the week, students in all schools in grades PreK-12 participated in different activities related to science, technology, engineering, and math. (Photo courtesy Bourne Public Schools)

BPS students took part in STEM Week by participating in an exploding pumpkin demonstration. (Photo courtesy Bourne Public Schools)