Adding STEAM to the Library involved creating an environment that is not only for exploring and research, but to also equip students with 21st century skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication and STEAM - science, technology, engineering, art and math. Creating Makerspaces in the library for the students to use during free library time and available for teachers to use with their class greatly improved the library’s functionality. The Makerspace included a permanent Lego wall, Legos pieces, a station, and movable Lego boards.

A University High classroom was transformed into a place where students can hang out during lunch and after school. Listening stations are extremely beneficial for students in today’s ever-changing learning environment, making it possible for them to learn from audio devices that play a variety of files and formats. The listening center includes a record player and stereo that will be used with classic vinyl records and cassette tapes as a way of exposing students to some of the lost or forgotten forms of audio media.

Students attending a center-based Special Education Program administered by the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools utilized robotics technology with programmable voice output capabilities with a Dash robot package. The robotic technology served as the students’ voice when the student is verbally prompted to respond to comprehension-check questions during classroom and community-based instruction. The classroom lessons using the district-adopted curriculum are linked to the content of the California State Standards.

Students at Dawson Elementary in Coalinga were able to go through a variety of activities in the new MakerSpace including Legos and Ozobots. Children worked in small groups collaborating on building important messages on the Lego Wall. This project included message development, design, measurement and construction of the Lego Message Board. Students created stories with Lego story kits, then transferred them into writing with a final class presentation. Students also began learning the beauty of art through coding with Ozobots.

The Super STEM Buddies project at West Fresno Elementary encouraged students to participate in more STEM-based projects. Using STEM kits, students solved projects using a buddy system. They were given challenging situations and they had to explore different avenues of solving them. Super STEM Buddies taught students the value of perseverance and teamwork and it was a great way for sixth graders to develop leadership skills.

Students at Westside Elementary benefitted from experiential learning lessons using a green screen and historical era costumes. These materials were used to incorporate artistic elements of drama, the tableau, within the social studies curriculum. Through the implementation of this project students increased their overall understanding of history through active engagement with the content material. Students were required to choose the background image, determine the speech for the character to say in the speech bubble, and figure out what poses would convey the historical event.

Fowler High School updated their shade house frame structure by purchasing a new shade cloth covering, pea gravel on the ground, and concrete walkways. Projects and activities that can be conducted in the shade house include hardening-off greenhouse grown plant and cuttings material, plant-based science research projects, fertilizer, light, and growth regulators trials.

The goal of Fitness for Students Trauma project at Clark Intermediate was to improve the academic success for students experiencing trauma through physical education. With the use of heart rate monitors, students were empowered and engaged using technology in a fun and interactive way to manage their own health and fitness and decrease negative behavioral incidents in the classroom.

Sixth grade students at Clay Joint Elementary School learned about principles and concepts related to flight. They researched WWII gliders, designed and built their own gliders, and competed in a glider competition. Students collaborated through a series of hands-on steps that helped to improve their problem-solving and critical thinking skills, while integrating the Engineering Design Process which allowed students to creatively explore STEM through design. First, they collaborated to design a prototype glider.

The After Dark: Breaking the Chains of Human Trafficking project was a one year, community awareness, multidisciplinary project incorporating U.S. History, Visual and Performing Arts, Video Production, and ELA. The first semester focused on researching the various aspects of human trafficking using the anchor text “Sold” by Patricia McCormick. The first visual arts project was writing and illustrating a graphic novel book that tells the story of how young people are groomed into human trafficking.

A majority of children who enter the foster care system come only with the clothes on their backs and many times when a child is transitioned from one foster home to another, they are handed a plastic trash bag to gather their belongings. As part of the sewing curriculum Central High School students in the Family and Consumer Sciences classroom sewed bags and made blankets as a service-learning project so that students in foster care have something they can call their very own. The bags were filled with hygiene items, toys, a blanket, and much more.

Beginning this school year, 4th – 8th grade students at Big Creek Elementary had an opportunity to take a woodshop class where they learned basic to advanced wood-working skills. Projects included building a toolbox where they learned to sand, assemble, and nail it together. They learned about more advanced tools and proper safety practices when using these tools. The woodshop class also taught students basic life skills such as correctly using a tape measure, hammer, and screwdriver.

Memorization is crucial and a precursor to higher level thinking. The goal of the I’ve Got Skills incentive is to encourage 3rd grade students at Caruthers Elementary School to strive, to learn, and memorize their multiplication facts. In order to help motivate students to achieve this goal, students were rewarded with a T-shirt that says, “I’ve got skills---I’m multiplying,” along with a picture of the multiplication chart once students passed their facts within a given time frame. Memorizing multiplication facts is still an important skill that students will use far into the future.

All of the kindergarteners at Washington Colony are up and coming engineers with the introduction to coding with new Bee Bots and Code-a-Pillars in each class! Kindergarteners were able to define a code as a sequence of directions for the technology to follow. They also learned and started to use the engineering design process and vocabulary: identify the problem, brainstorm, plan, create, test, edit, and improve.

The Viva Mariachi! project centered on a Mariachi music program for grades 6-8 at Orange Center Elementary School. There was a Mariachi performance at Fresno State University with the FSU Mariachi, one for Mother's Day at the school, and one at Open House. The students presented reports in class on the culture of Mexican music and different artists and genres. The program was able to purchase new Mariachi attire.

Makerspace is a place where students can gather to create, invent, tinker, explore, and discover using a variety of tools and materials. This year the goal was to expand the robotic and 3D printing capacity in the Makerspace at Sierra High School. Student now have greater opportunity to participate in STEAM projects and competitions that are not currently available via the classroom. This project inspired students to investigate the technological world through tinkering and robotics and to see the real-life application of math, science, technology, and art.

The Firebaugh High School Criminal Justice class took a day trip to San Francisco. They were able to take a short tour of the San Francisco Police Department and participate in the prestigious Alcatraz Prison Tour. The class learned the step-by-step process of what it takes to become a police officer in a city such as San Francisco. They were exposed to a whole different set of expectations than a typical small police department they are used to seeing in a city like Firebaugh. The students then made their way to Pier 39 to load up the Ferry that made its way to Alcatraz.

From the Garden to the Table was a fabulous kindergarten class project at Alvina Elementary. Students enjoyed gardening, observing, cooking, reading, writing, and singing. As students eagerly watched their ripening tomatoes, they learned a song about pizza, which was an introduction to the final cooking project of making our own pizza. Students enjoyed learning that they can grow plants from seeds and some from clippings. They enjoyed learning that plants have various scents with favorites being rosemary, lavender, and mint.