Afterschool STEM Class @ Ohlone Elementary School

Innovation for Youth is an enrichment program which weaves engaging STEM projects with recreational, play-based learning and is designed to develop young people’s skills in innovation, imagination, teamwork and leadership. The curriculum and class environment are designed so that young people can connect the creative side of their brains with challenging science, technology, engineering and math projects in a variety of free choice hands-on explorations. 

Art is infused into many of the projects to bring the joy of creative thinking into the process of innovating. In many class sessions students can bring home make-and-take projects. Math projects are designed to show how math is applied to real world problems.   

The final class of the series feature a showcase where students will give presentations about some of the various explorations they worked on during the class series. 

Featured Activities and Projects:

• Student Selected Projects:  Students will pitch proposals for class STEM projects and help with the logistical steps to implement the projects during the class. 
• Bridge Failure Analysis: Build a craft stick bridge and put it to the test.  Discover some of the factors that create stable structures. 
• Circle of Pong: Can you design a device to accurately place a ping pong ball from a distance of 3 feet away?  This popular design challenge teaches design thinking and how engineers need to consider properties of materials in engineering applications. 
• The STEM of Popcorn:  There is a lot’s science to popcorn.  We’ll talk about the factors that cause popcorn to pop and even discover the principles that cause popcorn to pop in a microwave oven. 
• Laser Processed Independent Projects: Students design laser cut parts for their own independent projects such as doll houses and scale model race cars and along the way they learn various procedures for computer aided design (CAD). (Note: parts are laser processed offsite).
• Tornado in a Box: Using a special effects fog machine, create an actual scale model tornado!
• The Amazing One Foot Inch:  Our new fraction game helps to learn the different common fractions of an inch that are frequently used in the construction industry. 
• Chinese Yo-Yos: These amazing and versatile yoyos known as 空竹 (kōngzhú) in China demonstrate a variety of physics principles including gyroscopic motion and friction 
• Knots, Knots and More Knots:  As a technology, knots were of critical importance to sailors in the Age of Sail from 1571-1862 when tall ships ruled the seas.  Even today, you never know when you might need to use a good knot. Knots have connections to engineering, math, science and art and we will explore knots from the perspective of these various disciplines.  
• Bamboo Structures: Put your newfound knowledge of knots to the test at you lash bamboo poles together to create a variety of structures.