Archive: Around Town

Next Monday kicks off the Lansing PTSO's (Parent Teacher Student Organization) second annual STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) month.  Dubbed STEAM 2.0, the month of activities is designed to offer unique, fun, and different kinds of experiences to get Lansing students excited about learning while providing a fun alternative to the winter doldrums.

"This started last year in response to feedback about winter doldrums," said PTSO President Kristin Hopkins.  "We rolled this out last year and it was a tremendous success.  We worked across our community.  We took input from parents and teachers and students about what they enjoy about STEAM and what they would want to do.  We worked with the community and Cornell and Ithaca College and the resources that we have to design specific activities and programs that expands upon the classroom learning in a hands-on format along with providing a community activity."

The Lansing Community Library has also received a grant for STEAM programming, and has decided to tie it in with the school district's STEAM Month.  Every Tuesday there will be a free after school program at the Library of hands-on STEAM activities for 3rd and 4th graders.

The schedule has events for all students, K-12.  The month begins with an elementary school Math-A-Thon.  Hopkins says about 12,000 facts were solved by students within two minutes last year.  January 27th is Elementary STEAM Night from 6 to 8pm.  Activities will include 'make your own marble run' from recycled components, origami, team building projects and a book fair, among others.

January 28th is Lansing Day at the Johnson Art Museum.

"We have worked with them specifically to put together a day of programming just for Lansing," Hopkins said.  "It will have a co-detective theme with some activities in the morning, and a Lansing -themed gallery hunt in the afternoon."


That will lead into the Middle School STEAM Saturday, which will offer topics including Art in the Pursuit of Science, Biodiversity, race car design, applied coding, and crafting with chemistry.  High School STEAM Day (February 11th) will also explore digital art, experiential science, building organs out of Jello, and many other activities.  Last year it featured High School Principal Colleen Ledley engulfed in a giant soap bubble.

"What's really exciting about those is not only are they fun, but the teachers have really gotten involved in planning and participating," Hopkins said.  "They need to do something fun.  Last year Mr. Saroka was doing a lot of things with pressure and dry ice that he might not normally get to do in the classroom based on curriculum requirements and time.  So they get to have fun.  And our students get to interact with our teachers in a different environment than what is normal on a typical school day."

The month closes out with A Night at Cornell's Fuertes Observatory  Hopkins says the event attracted about 200 people at last year;s STEAM Month.

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