BBN correspondent Cynthia Oliva-Morales previews the upcoming season
Probably most of you already know about the existence of the STEAM Club. But do you know what it consists of? Everyone has a different perspective on what it's like to be in the STEAM Club. For me, being in STEAM Club is having a second family, where we can be ourselves and not worry about people judging us.
S- Science
T- Technology
E- Engineering
A- Art
M- Mathematics
At STEAM club we expand our creativity by working on projects based on learning and building things that interest us. Everyone can freely express their creativity by designing, building and creating unique projects based on their own imagination. For example: swords, catapults, trebuchets, mini houses, 3D objects among others. STEAM Club also helps us learn more about coding and teaches us many technology-based skills we will need after high school. There is a place for everyone to work on whatever they want and share their knowledge with the group. Every day is a new opportunity to learn new things. We also learn valuable life skills that will be useful in life and in our careers.
Piper’s STEAM Club consists of different types of people who work on different types of things. It all depends on their interests and what they like to do or what they would like to get better at. There are students who work on buildings in which they are able to use all types of materials, such as wood, popsicle sticks, metal, plastics among others. There are also students who prefer to work on robotics, in which case they’ll be using materials to build a robot who can perform a variety of different tasks for different competitions including the VEX robotics competition that happens each year. There are students who code who can perform tasks to control or make something simple like a cardboard box, turn into a moving machine, or do things that require a higher complexity level.
We also compete against other schools. Last year we won first place with a catapult. The competition consists of dragster racing cars, hydro rockets, trebuchets, catapults, airplanes, bridges, among others. There is also a VEX competition where students design, build and code a robot that would qualify for the competition and be able to complete specific challenges.
All of this would not be possible without a leader, our president Jonathan Solage, who pushes club members and helps them get out of their comfort zone to challenge themselves and do things they previously didn't think they could do. He also plans what will be done at each meeting and creates a plan that includes everyone in the club. Additionally, this club would not exist without Mr. McMorris, who is also our physics and engineering teacher. He creates a safe environment for us to work in and helps us by explaining how things work and always gives us real criticism on how to improve things.