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International STEM Collaboration Comes to Windsor
“I’ve never made slime before!” said C.R. Weeks Kindergarten student Kimberly Merwin. 

On Wednesday Merwin and her classmates learned the slime they made was the result of an exothermic chemical reaction. It’s a high concept made fun to the students thanks to an international STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) collaboration that’s bringing common understanding to complex ideas.

“A lot of the stuff is big words that maybe one or two students pick up,” said 4th-year Binghamton University student Kevin Kong who presented to the Kindergarten class. “But you talk about chemical reactions and ask them about it 45 minutes later and they’ve retained some of the information.”

Binghamton University is working in partnership with the University of Toronto to implement the Science and Technology curriculum developed and used in Ontario in schools within our region. The Windsor Central School District is the pilot district for this endeavor.

“With the collaboration with BU here so often the students know this is important stuff and important to them,” said Kindergarten teacher Tara MacNamee.

“It’s really to encourage kids to get involved in STEM. They think it’s hard but it can be quite fun,” said Kong.

Kindergarten and 2nd-Grade students at Palmer, Weeks, and Bell Elementary have all taken part in the program. Next up, 1st-Grade students at all three schools April 24-28. That’s good news for parents and students. Well, for the most part.

“Now I can make slime at home and teach my brother how to make it,” said Kindergarten student Elena Hohlbach.