It all started last year in November 2018 when the Science and Technology department at Internationella Engelska Skolan in Kista, Stockholm, Sweden started the STEAM club with 3 teachers and 30 students. The club was started as an initiative of the Erasmus plus project granted by European Union called ‘We are creating Steam embassies’.
It just takes one enthusiastic teacher to start the change. Our tech expert, Mr O’Brien had the idea of making an Arcade Machine. With the help of the Aesthetics teacher and a group of year 9’s, they designed and built the body of the machine. Mr O’Brien then programmed the machine and had a group of year 8’s help with the soldering and wiring of the buttons and switches. Art teachers joined us to decorate the video game machine. Students started to play with it and started asking questions how did we make it. That made the teachers intrigued to take up the challenge to build the Steam department stronger in our school.
Students have been participating in various STEM-related activities in this academic term to answer questions about technology and why is it so relevant in the modern world. In the month of March 2019, the school PTA organised an overnight LAN party with 140 students participating in it (PIC). Students and teachers of the STEAM club participated in it with great enthusiasm. In the STEAM Club, we started working on a project called “Game based learning through it”. Students are using SIMS and Minecraft to create energy efficient houses and learn about geometric dimensions and cost-effectiveness. They will sale their house in May 2019 to a school in Norway over eTwinning live.
We celebrated STEAM month (April 2019) at IES Kista with various activities. The Erasmus-Steam team at IES Kista proudly hosted the ‘Stockholm Meet’ from 1st to 6th April 2019. 5 other countries – Ireland, Romania, Latvia, Italy, and Turkey participated in the event. 22 students and 15 teachers from other countries visited us during that week. International students stayed with IES students at their residences. They participated in different activities related to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths). We are excited to showcase the amazing work at IES Kista and the beauty of Sweden.
Website address – https://sites.google.com/engelska.se/we-are-creating-steamembassies/home
On the first day, 1st April, Professor Carl Johan Rundgren from Stockholm University took a session in our school on ‘STEM education for all and for the future’. It was a very interactive session with the students getting curious about their future. Our school is surrounded by a lot of Tech companies and therefore we tried to connect to the industry around us. A chief operating officer of an educational software developing company called ‘Sensavis’ took a session for the teachers and students when they trained the visiting teachers and students on how to use the Sensavis app.
The next day we had a sessions on Microbit, Robotics and 3D printing organized in the school. 50 students form various age groups participated in STEAM activities along with 22 international students. We had all sessions packed with a lot of enthusiasm and energy.
Pic – workshops during the Stockholm meet
Students of IES Kista also presented their project on Shelter Project under the supervision of out HOD(Maths) Mr McKinzie. The Shelter project is a geometry project. The objective for students is to design their own refugee shelter that one or more people can live in. The design should be cost effective, but it also needs to ensure that the people living inside can be healthy and comfortable. The design will use real-world materials, costs, information and requirements published by the UN. Students will present their design as a proposal and the top designs will be selected for special recognition. Throughout the project your work, discussions and investigations will demonstrate all of the knowledge requirements assessed in Y9 mathematics.
Video – Vincent sharing the project with international partners
Link – https://vimeo.com/334235254
The culture night was hosted with pomp and grandeur on 3rd April at 17-18.30. We celebrated together with the host families and teachers serving home cooked food to the international students. IES Kista band performed too with the teachers Mr Brown and Mr Thompson .
PIC – culture night during Stockholm meet – 3rd April 2019
We showcased our work throughout the week through different activities and mainly at the STEAM fair on 4th April between 8.30 to 10.40 am at IES Kista. The entire school with 960 students from all year group presented their work with respect to Science and Technology in all classes. Students appreciated looking and discussing each others work. They were proud sharing their work across borders.
Pic – STEAM fair – 4th April 2019
At school we hosted an etwinning mini-workshop conducted by the Etwinning and Scientix Ambassador from Romania, Ms Cristina on 3rd April. She took the session on how to work with Scientix to involve students in classroom.
Pic – etwinning and Scientix – 4th April
We ended the 5 day ‘Stockholm meet’ at the Nobel Museum. Students of grade 8 took part in a ‘Förskarkhjälpan project’ with the prestigious Nobel Museum and showcased their work at STEAM Fair.
The STEAM month celebrations ended at the Steam week where 60 girls participated at the ICT workshop organized by NGO Inicio at KTH university campus. Students took part in various workshops and competitions.They won awards for Best Design and for Innovation. It was was initiative to bridge the gender gap in the field of technology.
Pics – Girls’ in ICT winning Awards for best Design and Innovation – 25th April 2019
The journey of the Steam Club will continue with students participating in various activities to create interest in Steam related fields to bridge the skill gap across Europe.
Best of Luck to all of us. Regards. Ms. Banerjee (Erasmus-Steam Project Coordinator, IES Kista)