How do you get kids excited about STEAM? Make a competition with it out of trading cards. From October 7th-November 11th, 3rd-5th grade students at Camp Verde Unified School District will be able to collect playing cards that are hidden throughout the City.
Science Happens Here is an interactive game where students go by a local business and begin to collect one of the five playing cards. Each card features an example of science, technology, engineering, art, or math that happens within the Verde Valley Community. Once they have collected the cards they return home and conduct a simple experiment within one of the STEAM categories.
Collect all the cards and your class is more likely to win a trip to the Arizona Science Center. Students compete against all the classes in the district and whichever class has the most cards wins the prize.
What was the impact?
This program is run by Local First Arizona Foundation and offers students a chance to learn more about STEAM and their local businesses. With funding from RAIN, the program has been able to expand another year and into another community in the Verde Valley.
So far Camp Verde students have already logged over 131 experiments, and there are still two weeks to go in the competition! Such a great way to motivate students to get involved with STEAM and their local community.
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The Arizona Rural Activation and Innovation Network (RAIN) is funded by the National Science Foundation to oversee grant funding for informal STEM education projects in four rural Arizona communities: Cochise County, Graham and Greenlee County, the Verde Valley, and the Navapache/White Mountains region. RAIN acts as a resource for best practices in informal STEM program development and works to highlight effective STEM programs, employers and organizations across the state of Arizona. Interested in applying for a grant? Visit our website today and learn more about the opportunities in your community.