STEAM Saturday Launches Fall Session
The STEAM Saturday Fall session kicked off on October 18th! Our K-8 students have been engaging in fun, hands-on, and interactive Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math classes, including "Engineering Pumpkin Pollinators" with Museum of Science, Boston, "Pokemon Movie Adventures" and "Cinemakitchen" with Cinemakidz, "Garden Science" with Green City Growers, "BioDesign" with Rhode Island Computer Museum, and "Community Art" led by PHA high school students.
High School Lab Field Trips to Whitehead Institute and Biogen in Kendall Square
On October 21st, members of the high school's Pathways to Medicine club ventured over to the Yamashita Lab at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research to learn more about the mechanisms that regulate asymmetric stem cell division and their implications for cancer and other diseases. Students got to explore how fruit flies are used in genetics research. Working directly with flies, students observed a variety of physical traits, compared dominant and recessive characteristics, and learned how genetic differences are passed down from one generation to the next.
Also on the 21st, our AP Bio students visited Biogen for an advanced biology lab. The students learned what it's like to work in a professional lab setting, how to use micropipettes, and even got to run a gel electrophoresis experiment to determine the relative amounts of food dyes in M&Ms.
Fun with LEGO Kits Funded by Akamai Foundation
During their bonus class time last week, KB students used "LEGO Coding Express" kits to build train tracks and integrated pieces on the track which the train reads. The colorful pieces give commands that make the train perform particular sounds, stop or reverse direction. We are grateful to the Akamai Foundation for generously funding these and other PreK-6 LEGO curriculum and supplies with a STEM Education grant.
