STEAM is quite the buzz word now. If you don't know what STEM is it stands for science, technology, art, and math. Everybody loves STEM including me and my kiddos! I recently went to a workshop where we discussed STEAM and made chariots for Spheros if you don't have a Sphero you're missing out! Check them out here. We have two Spheros in our classroom so after the workshop, I decided that racing Sphero chariots would be the best way to get through spend the last few hours before spring break. It turned out to be a perfect choice! First I showed them my chariot and laid out all the supplies I had chosen for them to use. Then they decided if they wanted to work alone or with partners (even those that wanted to work alone ended up helping someone at some point) and gave them a few basic rules.

Next, they looked the supplies over and began drawing plans with labels showing what their chariots would look like.

Finally, they began to build their chariots. I have never seen/heard them this quiet!

During the building process, they stopped to test them out. This resulted in many, many, many modifications LOL! Most of their first designs didn't work at all so it was back to the drawing board!Once everyone had a working prototype we raced!!! A winner was declared and the top three racers received a book as a prize! Everyone loved this activity, and learned a lot! Give it a try, your class will love it!