Grade 4. students
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Da Vinci Bridge: Explore, Design, and Build: From Models to a Real Self-Supporting Bridge
In this all-day STEAM activity, 4th graders will step into Leonardo da Vinci’s shoes and solve a classic engineering challenge: build a bridge without glue, nails or rope. The journey takes students through 6 exciting stages, where they go from studying historical sketches and the physics of friction to building their own functional model. Teams will work through a design thinking engineering cycle – research, conceptual design, modelling, prototyping in pencil, and load testing their designs – to see how much weight their structure can support. In this challenge, students work in teams and have specific roles, where the designer…
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Team Mission: Planet Rescue
This 6-hour outdoor adventure turns 3rd graders into “rescue astronauts” tasked with saving a damaged planet by solving real-world environmental crises. The journey follows 6 stages, where teams must build functional water filters, cross “lava fields” with sturdy bridges, and engineer wind-resistant shelters. Using a mix of natural and recycled materials, students apply scientific and design thinking cycles to protect their mission from simulated “alien winds” and pollution. A unique focus on “SPIRIT skills” integrates emotional feedback after every challenge, helping students name their feelings by using weather icons like “sunny” or “stormy.” The mission concludes with a Reflective walk…
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Lemonade Stories: From Family Tradition to School Community
This transdisciplinary project for 4th graders turns a simple drink into a meaningful exploration of family traditional knowledge of food science and sustainability. The journey begins with students connecting lemonade to personal memories, using “taste-linked” emotions to build a shared collection of cultural stories. The core of the program features a “Recipe Experiment Lab,” where teams apply the scientific inquiry cycle to test ratios of acid, water, and sweetness. Beyond the science, students practice “Story-telling” and “Science Communication,” drafting respectful messages for their community that explain both the chemistry and the history of their blend. Brief description of the STEAM…
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Soap Bubbles challenge
In this multi-week project, 4th graders act as “community scientists” to solve the challenge of creating long-lasting bubbles. Students develop critical thinking by following the scientific method to test how changing different ingredients affects their results. Teams practice problem-solving and creativity by designing various wands and fixing designs when bubbles pop too early. The project strengthens connectedness and responsibility as students plan a safe and sustainable bubble event for their school community. By analysing their data and trying again, students build resilience and learn that every failed test provides important evidence for improvement. Brief description of the STEAM program This…
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Story-based exploration
The experience-based STEAM programme for 4th graders lasts a minimum of 6 hours (maximum 4 full afternoons) and transforms a familiar story/fairy tale into a series of physical, emotional and logical challenges. The journey begins with students immersing themselves in a story through interactive reading, vocabulary-building games, and other tools to build a shared adventure. The storyline then moves outdoors, where teams face a series of challenges – from recognising sounds of nature to solving puzzles – to practice persistent problem solving. The focus then shifts to empathy, as students get into the shoes of the characters through drama-based role-play…