Regardless of the weather outside, members of our Winter Wonderland S.T.E.A.M Enrichment Clubs have been working hard, having fun, and using science to create their winter-themed art projects. At the start of the six-week program, Club members built well-insulated igloos and decorated snowy scenes. In weeks 2 and 3, they moved on to a multi-week art and science project – creating their own enchanted forest!
To create their scenes, members first explored the challenge of manipulating a 2-dimensional piece of cardboard into 3-dimensional trees and enchanted forest creatures. They used math and visualization skills to design, measure, cut and assemble their creations. The next step was to mix up a crystal growing solution, all while discovering the science behind suspension, sedimentation, capillary action, and evaporation. Within hours of pouring the solution, snow-like crystals began showing up in their forests. When kids came back the next week, they were able to see the final results of their efforts: beautiful enchanted trees covered in delicate, needle-like crystals!
There’s still plenty of Winter Wonderland S.T.E.A.M. to look forward to! For their next project, members will tackle symmetry and snowflakes while creating fun and interesting winter ornaments. In the meantime, we want to acknowledge those who made these Enrichment Clubs possible. This program is supported in part by a grant from the West Springfield Arts Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Thank you to the West Springfield Arts Council for choosing to support this fun and educational program! You can check out in-progress and finished pictures of the enchanted trees below, and keep an eye on our social media for more to come!
