Thanks to Caroline at Waterford Libraries, Mr. Russell’s 5th Class received a Curiosity Box for Engineers Week 2019! The box was titled “Electric Artwork”. All the activities in a Curiosity Box are STEM related – but this box was a STEAM activity! So – what is STEAM? It’s an acronym, and stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths.

The Curiosity Box in 5th Class had the boys using all 5 of the STEAM areas as they had to design a card, which would have two LED lights forming part of the front of the card. The class had a template each to work on this, and after drawing and decorating the card, they then had to attach copper tape to the back of the card. The LED lights had to touch the tape. Each card was then connected to a battery pack, and the crocodile connectors were clamped onto the copper tape. If done correctly, the LED lights on the front of the card lit up. Some worked, some didn’t – which was perfect, as the boys learned that if things don’t work the first time, you problem solve by going back to each step of the process, and check that each part is working properly. Then you try again, and repeat this process until you have everything working. It’s a great life lesson for the boys to have learned, as well as the fantastic STEAM work that they undertook.

Well done to all the boys for the great work in their STEAM activity – and for making such brilliant artwork. Thanks again to Caroline at Waterford Libraries for arranging the Curiosity Box for the boys in 5th Class. Check out some photos of the boys at work with STEAM activities in the gallery below: