Plum’s Regency Park STEM learning

In Allegheny County, Regency Park Elementary students learned science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills last semester by building 3D aircraft, raising and releasing trout, and completing other hands-on activities. The projects are part of a concerted effort the district is making to integrate more STEM into the students’ learning process.

Carnegie Science Center’s traveling outreach “Fab Lab” helped third- through sixth-graders at the school design and print aircraft on a 3D printer. The design was printed as a group of foam cutouts that the students then assembled and tested.

High school students set up a Science Olympiad contest for their younger peers, encouraging collaboration and the learning of STEM skills through a little healthy competition.

Regency Park fifth-graders learned about the life cycle of trout as they helped to raise brook trout throughout the year and then release them into a stream. The experience was part of a program provided by the Fish and Boat Commission, Penn State New Kensington’s ABC CREATE Lab and the National Center for Technology Literacy. They also learned how to test water samples from the stream to ensure the trout’s safety and how water filters work.