Making it Up

After three hours on one school bus, most students wouldn’t be thrilled with hopping on another. But that wasn’t the case when 25 4th and 5th grade students from Windsor traveled to Maker Faire Rochester, a hands-on expo that fed curious minds with experiments featuring science, technology, and more. 
 
Two dozen young students standing in a hallway, posing for a picture 

“It was awesome,” said 5th grade teacher Lindsey Hendricks. “The were immediately immersed into a world of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). They were able to build, create, and explore all areas of STEAM.”

And, no place more so than at the NY STEAM Bus, a converted school bus filled with activities like robotics and coding, and experiments about renewable energy, nano sand, and thin films. 

“Inside the bus, they had all these things to do. You had to solve problems to make a fan spin,” said 5th grader Dylan Newman. 

The bus also featured a breakout box. Students needed to solve their way off the bus by answering a set of coding, robotics, and design challenges. 

“It was really fun. You go to make a lot of things and walk around. I liked the bus a lot,” said 5th grader Danika Smith. 

The bus wasn’t the only activity. In all, students took part in six sessions, including watching Mario the Maker Magician. 

“He talked about putting down your device and making, using what is around you,” said Hendricks. 
 
A group of 8 young students around a table 

The trip was made possible by a grant from Walmart. While Windsor students were impressed with the event, they were also impressive to others around them.

“A lot of people around us were surprised with how much our kids knew about coding and robotics. Even when our students were facing something new, they had the instincts to figure it out,” said Hendricks. 

“At first, I thought it was going to be one way, but then it turned out to be a lot more fun than I thought,” said Smith. 

“There was this infectious excitement, and I’m hopeful they’ll bring that back to their peers,” said Hendricks. 

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