An enthusiastic crowd of students and parents filled up the gym at Plattekill Elementary on March 28, as the school hosted its annual STEAM Community Night. Kids from grades K-6 submerged their hands in slime, played with robots of their own creation and made their own ice cream at a station in the cafeteria as the students took part in a host of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) activities.

In February, the school invited families to partake in its Family Technology Night, and the STEAM session included an even broader range of activities, as the young students participated in a bubble making station, gathered around a table decked out with brain-teasing wordles puzzles and completed a marble maze for a range of different learning initiatives.

The parents worked hand-in-hand with their kids while they played with many of the games. “I think it’s a great opportunity for parents to spend quality time with their child, so that’s first and foremost,” Plattekill Elementary Principal Monica Hasbrouck said. “I think it’s important that when they come to our school that they see what’s going on and they understand the activities that we’re doing during the school day. So it’s a nice opportunity to see some lessons that we’re doing. We’re really concentrating on STEAM activities because we want more problem-solving, collaboration, working together. Gone are the days where you went to lab class in high school and the labs were pre-set. Now it’s thinking outside of the box and not knowing what materials you need. So we like to put out materials and let the students figure it out.”

A corner of the gym was dedicated to science and technology, with the children controlling VEX robots that grow more elaborate each year, as students coded the machines this year to pick up balls with robotic claws on the mobile units. “The sixth-grade students built the robots and they coded them to be able to clawbot to go up and down and pick up the balls and do different challenges,” Wallkill Library Media Technology Integrated Specialist Stephen Cabarcas explained.

The students also took part in a Osmo Coding game app on iPads on loan from BOCES. The yearly community nights have grown in numbers each year with healthy crowds filling the gymnasium. “Usually the younger grades attend, but this time I’ve seen a lot of grades four through six and I can see them having a lot of fun,” Hasbrouck said.

The community nights allow local parents the chance to catch a glimpse of the tech that their kids work with every day in school. “I think it’s great because it allows the community to come together and the parents can come to the school and really get a hands-on feeling of what the students go through on a daily basis in school,” Cabarcas said. “They get to see what their learning experience is and how we incorporate STEAM into the classroom.”

The fair was a hit with the students. “I made ice cream, and it was yummy,” reported Grade 6 student John Reynolds. “I didn’t know it would taste so good.” Grade 5 student Miranda Padilla enjoyed making a musical instrument. “It was cool to make a flute out of different length straws,” she said.

Katelyn Krupp, a sixth grader, appreciated the variety of learning stations and the fact that there were plenty of volunteers on hand to help the students. Among the volunteers were High School-aged members of the Leo Club, a youth service organization. “I liked having the High School students there as role models,” said Grade 6 student Elena Sindt. “I also like working with the robots!”