Studying Earthquakes with STEAM Kit

Courtney Yarbrough, a 2nd grade teacher at the Academy of Alameda, applied and was awarded a grant to purchase a DreamBox STEAM kit for her classroom to do various science experiments. She knew her class responded well to hands-on learning experiences, and she was eager to provide an opportunity to include some hands-on, NGSS aligned science exploration in class. These projects were above and beyond her regular science curriculum and would allow students to enrich their learning in a fun way.

Ms. Yarbrough wrote: “Thank you so much for [the Teacher Mini Grant]. Below are a few photos from one of the projects included in the box. The class assembled a motorized shaking board plus a structure that students hoped would be able to withstand the ‘modeled’ earthquake. The shaking board was made from binder parts, small bouncy balls, bottle caps, and rubber bands and was motorized using wires and a battery. Our class had been talking about models and how they are made to represent an actual thing. Ironically, we completed this activity the day after the recent earthquake! We look forward to completing more activities from the DreamBox kit!”