Mt. Lebanon’s first STEAM K-12 Showcase packs ’em in
Students participate in a maker space project during Mt. Lebanon’s STEAM K-12 Showcase.
A student participates in a maker space project during Mt. Lebanon’s STEAM K-12 Showcase.
Students participate in a maker space project during Mt. Lebanon’s STEAM K-12 Showcase.
A student participates in a maker space project during Mt. Lebanon’s STEAM K-12 Showcase.
Mt. Lebanon students show off their Wearabe LED projects during the STEAM K-12 Showcase.
Way back when students trudged to and from school uphill both ways, they learned what was known as the three R’s, even though only one of the disciplines of reading, writing and arithmetic actually starts with that letter.
Mt. Lebanon students still walk these days, perhaps on a more reasonable trajectory, and they have a much better sequence of letters representing areas of their education: STEAM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
“It’s something that we pride ourselves on in Mt. Lebanon. We consider ourselves a front-runner in all of those areas,” high school science teacher Drew Haberberger said. “What we’ve also realized is that we don’t do a very good job of publicizing what we do in those areas.”
And so came the idea for the STEAM K-12 Showcase, which debuted the evening of March 7 and filled the high school parking lot as parents, grandparents and other interested residents got a firsthand look at the students’ work on all grade levels.
”We’re thrilled that our community came out tonight,” Marybeth Irvin, assistant superintendent of elementary education, said about the healthy attendance. “Hopefully, this will be an event that we can sustain, because we want to be able to bring people in and show them what we’re doing.”
The showcase started with a Science Spectacular Laser Show that wowed the audience in the high school auditorium. Afterward, guests were invited to tour the school’s science and technical education facilities, while students participated in numerous maker spaces set up in classrooms.
Sophomore Annabel Haberberger – yes, she’s the teacher’s daughter – volunteered to assist with one of the maker spaces, LEGO Challenge, in which students learned about mechanical and artistic aspects while constructing with the familiar plastic toys.
“It’s actually really fun, and you’d be surprised how easily it comes to them,” she said.
In the same room, students also learned lessons using some of their favorite toy cars.
“With the Hot Wheels, it has to a lot with momentum and physics,” Annabel said. “Having to make a car go through two loops, it’s a lot more difficult than you’d expect. But they’re succeeding so well at it.”
One of the more popular maker spaces turned out to be Wearable LEDs, in which students worked with light-emitting diodes.
“People actually design circuits that they’ll wear, hats or jewelry, and they’ll light up,” Drew Haberberger said.
The high school’s center court served as a focal point for the district’s overall science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics curriculum.
“As you start in the elementary school grades and you see how everything is very colorful, very intricate,” Haberberger explained. “The principles are very simple, but as you work your way through second and third grade, and into middle school, you’ll see that things become more refined and they become more technical, and electronics begin to be introduced.”
By high school, students are equipped to learn through the likes a robotics facility and a variety of science laboratories, where the three R’s certainly come in handy but can’t quite compete with the educational potential of STEAM.