September 28, 2022 Connecting Achievers to STEM Opportunities As we enter fall, we wanted to highlight the numerous opportunities that our Achievers had over the summer to connect with STEM learning experiences throughout those months away from school. This past summer our Elementary Achievers participated in a weekly Science group led by a few of our mentors. The first week our Achievers created "Ooblek" which introduced them to the concept of non-Newtonian fluids. Many of our Achievers have loved making slime at our office and enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences between Ooblek and slime. The second week they completed an Egg drop challenge. They enjoyed constructing their own designs using cardboard boxes, paper, tape, rope, popsicle sticks (basically anything they could find in the STEAM room) and making predictions about which would survive the drop and which would not (most survived!). The third activity was to build their own kaleidoscopes using cardboard tubes. They were able to design the outside of the tube and see the colored Myler sheets when they looked through. The fourth and final activity was to make their own ice cream - a hit with the Achievers! They put in work shaking bags of half and half, vanilla extract, sugar, salt, and ice in order to make their ice cream (a great summer treat). The importance of STEM education continues to grow, and we’re excited to provide these learning opportunities for them.