The Elementary Schools of Penn-Trafford School District conduct periodic STEAM projects called “Junk Box Wars.”
STEAM activities integrate science, technology, engineering, art, and math into a single lesson. The Junk Box Wars projects encourage students to use their scientific knowledge to create and design a device. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade work with a partner and are given a design challenge and a bag of “junk” to create a device that solves a specified task.
April’s Junkbox War was called ‘The Strongest Table Challenge’. The students were tasked with building the strongest four-legged table. The students were given only newspapers and tape to complete the challenge.
Winners were named from each grade level, and the students enjoyed the educational and interactive project.
Level Green Elementary 3rd-graders Thomas Linn and Lucy Wright work together to create the strongest table
Sunrise kindergarteners William Myers and Reece Smith built the strongest table in their class and earned medals
McCullough Elementary 4th-graders Omi Kephart and Caroline Rellick pile books and a stool on their paper table
Harrison Park Elementary 2nd-graders Harper Rodriguez, Sophia Morrison, Myla Allen team up for the project
Trafford Elementary School 3rd-graders Stella Marts and Frankie Miele work together on the project