STEM Blog

3D printing continues to positively impact the world, helping to create affordable prosthetics and advanced designs in manufacturing, promoting coral reef growth, preserving archeological artifacts and much more. As part of our continuing STEM curriculum, Mrs. Phelp’s First Grade Computer Class was challenged to design and 3D print a Mother’s Day charm. The students were introduced to 3D printing technology and had the opportunity to examine a real-life example of a replacement part printed for a camera tripod. Mrs. Phelps discussed the use of 3D printing by the Arkansas Archeological Survey, which is part of the University of Arkansas system. The students had the opportunity to touch and hold one of the 3D printed artifacts from a file sent to us from the Arkansas Archeological Survey. We would like to thank the @ArkansasArcheologicalSurvey for sharing their work with our students to inspire their curiosity and learning. To learn more about the Arkansas Archeological Survey, visit https://archeology.uark.edu/3d/ The students designed their charms with pencil and paper then proceeded to recreate their designs on the computer using a software program called Pixie. The resulting files were processed through Dremel 3D slicer software, printed and proudly worn by the students to demonstrate their gift to their moms.

Why do birds have so many kinds of beaks? “Have you ever noticed that different species of birds have different shaped beaks? You would expect birds that live in the same habitat

to eat the same food sources. However, to avoid competition with each other, birds have had to adapt over time to fill different niches within the habitat. One of those adaptations is the shape of the bird’s beak, which is used to gather and eat food.” (Project Birdman - Kesler Science.com)

"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." Students in Mrs. Nugent’s 8th grade LA class were recently challenged to use nothing but 200 popsicle sticks, glue, and Barbie dolls to recreate the famous balcony scene from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. After researching the construction of famous bridges around the world and learning about the ways in which they are designed to meet load, stress, and aesthetic challenges, students worked together as teams of engineers to design and build their balconies. They then tested the integrity of their balconies using 20+ pounds of weight and Barbie dolls representing Romeo and Juliet while reciting lines from the play to reenact the scene. In the balcony scene, the audience understands for the first time how strong the love is between these two characters. Were our popsicle stick balconies as strong as their love for one another? Check out the pictures below to find out! #STEMatSLS

The Aqua Knights took advantage of this week’s warm spring temperatures to put their remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to the test in an outdoor pool. They are preparing for the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) competition, scheduled to take place at Villanova University on May 11th. For the third year in a row, the team has been busy building an underwater robot, installing cameras, and testing its “drivability”. This week, the team members gathered by the pool to put the robot to the test. They tested out some of the missions and adjusted the buoyancy of the robot to allow it to complete them successfully. There is still a lot of work to be done but the team members and coaches are excited and will be ready for the competition. Stay tuned for updates on their progress. #SLSSTEM #RiseAbove #AOBCatholicSchools To learn more about the MATE competition, visit https://www.marinetech.org/rov-competition-2/