The Elementary Schools of Penn-Trafford School District conduct periodic STEAM projects called “Junk Box Wars.”
Junk Box Wars projects incorporate science, technology, engineering, art, and math into a fun and competitive lesson. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade work in teams to create a device from a bag of ‘junk’.
October’s Junkbox War was called ‘Pumpkin Catapult Challenge.’ The students were tasked with building a catapult to launch ‘ping pong’ pumpkins. The students were given eight popsicle sticks, five rubber bands, one roll of tape, a plastic spoon, three paper clips, three index cards, two straws, one binder clip, one pipe cleaner, and a handful of toothpicks to build their device. Teams launched their pumpkins to try and hit a target. The activity promoted teamwork, focus, fine motor skills, sportsmanship, and problem-solving skills.
Winners were named from each grade level, and the students enjoyed the educational and interactive project.
McCullough 2nd-graders Carson Mitchell and Lillian McCauley work together to build a catapult
Level Green 3rd-grader Ray Wang takes aim at the target while Ella Korekach, Elijah Bell, and Ben Prosdocimo watch
Trafford 1st-graders Vincent Parasky, Beau Bauman, and Emma Wesolowski show the catapult they built together
Sunrise students with the most accurate catapult tosses show off their medals