When Arroyo Vista elementary students step out of their typical classrooms and into the multipurpose room on campus, they never know exactly what to expect, but they do know their experiences will be creative and fun. Since the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, the AV MakerSpace—a place for hands-on learning where students can make things while sharing ideas, equipment and knowledge—has provided a backdrop for STEM-focused activities.

 

“Students in Kindergarten through fifth grade are participating in MakerSpace activities that are highly engaging and are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards,” said Principal Kim Sinclair. “The cooperative learning experiences have been carefully designed by the Arroyo Vista teachers and by former Arroyo Vista teacher, Mrs. Davis Martinez, to enhance our newly-adopted Twig science curriculum. During a recent second grade MakerSpace session, students created a traveling device on wheels and coded it to travel through the landform map they created with some of their classmates."

 

Funded by a South Pasadena Educational Foundation (SPEF) grant, the AV PTA and school site funding, the MakerSpace gives students the opportunity to use a wide variety of tools to create and problem solve collaboratively with a hands-on approach. Go, Wildcats!