STEAM It UP!
RIF NOVA's STEAM It Up! program continues in 2025, again thanks to a partnership with Amazon and Amazon Web Services AWS inCommunities. The program was created to provide local students with age-appropriate STEAM books and activities. Four RIF NOVA elementary schools took part in 2023: Cora Kelly, Drew, Groveton, and Marumsco Hills. Ten schools are taking part in 2025! Several are pictured below.
The original program included a maze creation activity for younger children and a bridge building activity for older elementary students. Options to build a harmonica or a flashlight have been added in 2025. Each child is able to choose a book that focuses on science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math to take home for keeps.
The original program included a maze creation activity for younger children and a bridge building activity for older elementary students. Options to build a harmonica or a flashlight have been added in 2025. Each child is able to choose a book that focuses on science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math to take home for keeps.
Yorkshire ES STEAMS It Up! -- April 1-8, 2025
|
|
Throughout the first two weeks of April at Yorkshire Elementary in Prince William County, Steam It Up! activities were led by Winter Gannon, the school’s STEM teacher. Excitement was high for the primary students who listened attentively as they watched a video about constructing a maze. Smiles abounded as the young builders worked on their own works of creativity and engineering. Each child took a break to select a nonfiction STEAM-related book for keeps!
|
|
STEAM-ing It Up! with the Whole FAM at Dumfries Elementary! -- March 27, 2025
It was a full-on family affair at Dumfries Elementary as moms, dads, grandmothers, cousins, and more joined students to STEAM It Up! The gym turned into a cacophony of creativity as parents helped their children to construct a maze or a bridge, followed by choosing a STEAM book to take home for keeps! Having building fun? Absolutely. Doing so with family love and support? Priceless! Special thanks to RIF NOVA liaison Emily Decarolis and her team for a day of books and building that students and their families will not soon forget!
|
|
|
|
|
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
A Maze of Exploration: STEAMing It Up! at Potomac View -- March 10-13, 2025
|
Potomac View reading specialist and RIF NOVA liaison Debbie Crawn and librarian Kevin Rock always add a clever touch to RIF NOVA book activities. Their version of STEAM It Up! at this Prince William County school was no exception. To start, children could view posters of inventors, engineers, astronauts, and scientists from throughout history -- along with thought bubbles -- arranged throughout the library. Younger students heard the book, I Got a Chicken for My Birthday which, despite its title is actually about building! There was more fun ahead as students built their mazes and picked from a range of all nonfiction STEAM books to take home for keeps!
|
|
|
|
|
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
STEAMing It Up! with Sound and Light -- 2025
Cora Kelly, Drew, and Marumsco Hills
Cora Kelly (Alexandria), Drew (Arlington), and Marumsco Hills (Prince William County students were part of the first STEAM It Up! pilot project in 2023. So this time, they had something new to build. Older students built a flashlight using sticks, copper wire, a small battery, and a small light bulb. The flashlights worked! Kindergarten through second graders built a harmonica out of sticks, rubber bands, and straws. Some interesting music was heard throughout each school's library! Each child then had the choice of a new STEAM book to take home for keeps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Polk Elementary School (Alexandria) -- 2025
"The best part is you get to use your imagination!" -- Polk 4th grader
After discussing what a builder or engineer does, Polk Elementary school children wasted no time digging in to build a bridge or to construct a maze. Their creations -- using sticks, pipe cleaners, straws, and stickers -- were truly one-of-a-kind works of imagination. Several of the older students tested their bridges to see how much weight they could hold. After building his bridge and picking a STEAM book, one student said, "This is officially the best library class ever!"
Polk librarian Mark Tierney made a video of Polk's STEAM It Up! week. Click here to experience the joy! Thank you, Mark Tierney!
After discussing what a builder or engineer does, Polk Elementary school children wasted no time digging in to build a bridge or to construct a maze. Their creations -- using sticks, pipe cleaners, straws, and stickers -- were truly one-of-a-kind works of imagination. Several of the older students tested their bridges to see how much weight they could hold. After building his bridge and picking a STEAM book, one student said, "This is officially the best library class ever!"
Polk librarian Mark Tierney made a video of Polk's STEAM It Up! week. Click here to experience the joy! Thank you, Mark Tierney!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carlin Springs Elementary (Arlington) Celebrates Bridge History -- 2025
Younger students built some clever mazes at Carlin Springs Elementary, while older students had fun trying to build a bridge. Before picking their own brand new STEAM book -- classes listened to Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing, read by librarian and RIF NOVA liaison Holly Nisco. The book chronicles P.T. Barnum's stunt to encourage fearful New Yorkers to cross the Brooklyn Bridge -- the first ever steel wire suspension bridge. His elephant crossing plan worked! And the rest, as they say, is (engineering) history!
|
|
|
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology (Alexandria) -- 2023
"This is the best day that I had in the world!" -- Kevin, Cora Kelly second grader
Cora Kelly librarian and NOVA RIF liaison Cathy Guthrie, along with STEM specialist Kelley Organek, wasted no time in getting started with a week-long activity schedule that included story reading, building fun, and book picking. The K-3 group constructed a maze using cardboard pieces to build a box, pieces of straw and pipe cleaner to create the maze, and a ball to fit around the obstacles. All students were then able to pick a book on a STEAM-related theme.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth and fifth graders took on the engineering challenging of building a bridge from popsicle sticks and clay magic. Cathy Guthrie read them the book Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge to inspire the building juices of these budding engineers!
|
|
|
Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School (Arlington) -- 2023
Young engineers at this Arlington school worked on their STEAM It Up! project during several classroom sessions. In teams, they filled out an "Expectations for Engineers" plan of action before they began to build and create. Librarian Dora Sue Black (also NOVA RIF liaison and board member) and STEM coordinator Kirstin Reddick led the children as they tried (and failed) and tried again! The goal for the older children was to use keva blocks or domino squares to build a creation that would be strong enough to hold the weight of a book. Would their creations work?
|
|
|
Trying, trying, and trying again...can we make our structure stable enough to hold weight?
|
|
|
Wait for it... YES! The joy of success!
|
|
|
Groveton Elementary School (Fairfax County) -- 2023
Groveton children assembled in the library to build their projects. Librarian and NOVA RIF liaison Eileen Findley and library assistant Maria Meeks were thrilled that Groveton kids were given this opportunity. Since Groveton does not have a STEM program (yet!), Findley said it was a unique chance for the kids to build anything like this. Books were available in English and Spanish, and they went like hotcakes! Volunteers from the NOVA RIF board and from Amazon/AWS pitched in to help the children build at all school locations. And just look at the happy faces as maze pieces turned into fun!
|
|
Srinija Desiraju, Solutions Architect at AWS, was one of the many volunteers.
|
The fourth through sixth grade students went about their bridge building business with purpose -- and pride -- when their structures actually held up!
|
|
|
Marumsco Hills Elementary School (Prince William County) -- 2023
Q from NOVA RIF board member: "Are you ready for RIF NOVA?"
A from student: "I'm always ready for RIF!"
A from student: "I'm always ready for RIF!"
|
So began the STEAM It Up! week of activities at Marumsco Hills Elementary School. Children at this Prince William County school were treated to an extra feature as they built their mazes and bridges and selected their keep-forever books. Several Amazon staff members spoke to the kids about their jobs and how to be good leaders, while also encouraging the kids to consider a future in a STEAM field. |
|
Wilberte Paul, AWS Community Engagement Manager, worked with a few budding engineers
|
AWS Global Procurement Leader Nicole Thompson shared career ideas with young builders
|
|
|
|
|
K-3 students enjoyed their maze-building activity AND their new STEAM-related book!
|
|
|
STEAM It Up! It takes a village to STEAM ahead!
Cora Kelly STEAM team with library assistant Linda Berry (l), STEM coordinator Kelley Organek (m), and librarian/RIF NOVA liaison Cathy Guthrie (r)
|
Drew students in middle are flanked by STEM coordinator Kirstin Riddick (l-r), librarian/NOVA RIF liaison and board member Dora Sue Black, and Cynthia Caglar, senior manager Amazon in the Community
|
Groveton library assistant Maria Meeks (l) and librarian and NOVA RIF liaison Eileen Findley did a lot of prep work for each class so the children could focus on building.
|
(l-r) Marumsco Hills librarian Jessica Nelson, AWS team members Jermery Johnson, Bryan Crawford, and Nicole Thompson, and NOVA RIF liaison Sharon Nottingham
|
