ONE Science Whiz Kid Ah is there anything better than a new robot I said happily It was Friday Exploration Day in the Makerspace It was my favorite day in my favorite place I was at the robotics table programming a four-wheel rover to move through a maze of obstacles Rana was at the sewing machines constructing something out of colorful fabric strips Louie worked at the mixed medium table building an old-fashioned volcano out of Play-Doh and a soda bottle A few kids used laptops to design pieces of furniture while others waited for their results at the 3-D printers Two years ago an anonymous family donated the Makerspace technology and all to Cape 4
Elementary for its STEAM program STEAM stands for science technology engineering art and math STEAM subjects are my favorites Doc our eighth-grade science teacher happens to be my favorite teacher too As we worked Doc circled around the room handing back lab reports His eyes looked buggy behind the magnified lenses of his safety goggles Remember to take notes as you work he reminded us The Makerspace only had three rules 1 Safety first 2 Try try again 3 Always take notes He slid the lab report on my table The red scribbly handwriting called my name from the corner of the page I couldn’t resist taking a peek 98 Well done as always Small deduction for mislabeling Carbon C not CO 5
I smiled and clipped the paper into the correct section of my binder Just then the bell rang Remember class Doc said as we quickly cleaned up our work stations In just two weeks Cape Elementary has the honor of hosting the first ever Massachusetts STEAM Convention My ears perked up I had been waiting all summer for this Students and teachers from across the state were coming to our Makerspace to spend the day working on exciting projects There would be group competitions hands-on experiments and even a chance to work with professional scientists I hope you’re all ready to run on full STEAM Doc joked over the hustle and bustle Get it STEAM Rana and Louie met me at my table their backpacks zipped and ready to go Nice job with Vesuvius over there joked Rana 6
She poked Louie in the ribs At least mine doesn’t look like something from the lint drawer Louie replied Are you kidding said Rana waving her fabric creation in the air This is clearly a fashionable tassel They’re everywhere this season I’m just keeping up with the trends Break it up you two I said Both of your projects looked great Easy for you to say Alana said Rana I bet you built that entire robot by hand during study hall didn’t you My cheeks blushed slightly You did said Louie The Science Whiz Kid strikes again Let’s go I said Maya’s waiting for us in the cafeteria It’s mac and cheese day Rana Louie Maya and I had been best friends since kindergarten We had lunch together every day at the same round table in the corner of the 7
