Ocean Inc. Head Start staff provided a 'Family STEAM Night' event at the Waretown Elementary School in Ocean County, NJ. STEAM is the combination of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. The inclusion of Art to STEM core subjects is essential to encouraging a child's creative and critical thinking and makes science, technology, engineering and math experiments more entertaining and approachable.
Art is about discovering and creating ingenious ways of problem-solving, integrating principles and presenting information. By adding the elements of art to STEM based thinking, educators believe that students can use both sides of their brain — analytical and creative — to develop the best thinkers of tomorrow.
Throughout the evening, agency staff engaged the children and their families with a table full of fun activities and giveaways. One activity ‘Who can Build the Tallest Tower Structure’ helped support the child's curiosity, creativity, and innovative thinking. The objective of the project was to work together to build the tallest free-standing tower, illustrating the importance of collaboration and communication. As indicated in the attached photos, participants arranged cups into different color patterns and ultimately into their tallest towers which proved to be challenging however lots of fun.
At the conclusion of the event, each participant received a coloring sheet with crayons and a gift card was raffled for the six families who enrolled in the Ocean Inc. Head Start Program.
Reminder: To review all upcoming Ocean Inc. outreach events throughout the region, be sure to visit the Ocean Inc. 'Calendar of Events' with updates continuously posted on the following site: https://oceaninc.org/calendar-of-events
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