Elementary Students Create from ‘Junk’

The Elementary Schools of Penn-Trafford School District conduct periodic STEAM projects called “Junk Box Wars.”   

 

Junk Box Wars projects incorporate science, technology, engineering, art, and math into a fun and competitive lesson. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade work in teams to create a device from a bag of ‘junk’.  

 

October’s Junkbox War was called ‘Pumpkin Catapult Challenge.’ The students were tasked with building a catapult to launch ‘ping pong’ pumpkins. The students were given eight popsicle sticks, five rubber bands, one roll of tape, a plastic spoon, three paper clips, three index cards, two straws, one binder clip, one pipe cleaner, and a handful of toothpicks to build their device.  Teams launched their pumpkins to try and hit a target.  The activity promoted teamwork, focus, fine motor skills, sportsmanship, and problem-solving skills.

 

Winners were named from each grade level, and the students enjoyed the educational and interactive project.

 

Harrison Park 2nd-graders Genevieve Kasabian and Joy Dixon open their bag of supplies and start to brainstorm their catapult designHarrison Park 2nd-graders Genevieve Kasabian and Joy Dixon open their bag of supplies and start to brainstorm their catapult design

 

McCullough 2nd-graders Carson Mitchell and Lillian McCauley work together to build a catapult

McCullough 2nd-graders Carson Mitchell and Lillian McCauley work together to build a catapult

 

Level Green 3rd-grader Ray Wang  takes aim at the target while Ella Korekach, Elijah Bell, and Ben Prosdocimo watch

Level Green 3rd-grader Ray Wang  takes aim at the target while Ella Korekach, Elijah Bell, and Ben Prosdocimo watch

 

Trafford 1st-graders Vincent Parasky, Beau Bauman, and Emma Wesolowski show the catapult they built together

Trafford 1st-graders Vincent Parasky, Beau Bauman, and Emma Wesolowski show the catapult they built together

 

Sunrise students with the most accurate catapult tosses show off their medals

Sunrise students with the most accurate catapult tosses show off their medals