Finding ways to MAKE IT HAPPEN
As teachers (honestly anyone though) of course we don’t want extra work on top of everything extra we might be dealing with right now. But with the pandemic, school-community events are few and far between. Which is sad, because these events bring the community and staff of a school together! If they are still happening, they also are looking quite different this year! I thought I would share with you all how I am making sure our annual STEM Expo happen this year, even during virtual learning in the middle of a pandemic. That way, if you are struggling to figure out how/if you can hold your annual school-community event(s) this year, maybe this can help you get started!
Last year’s STEM Expo
Our STEM Expo is usually a one night event, where students bring their projects to school to display the morning of the event. During the school day, each class has a block of time where they are able to walk through the displays all set up in the gym.
The evening portion of the STEM Expo is a two hour event. The first hour consists of families and community members mingling, hearing from students about their projects, and even watching demonstrations of student projects. The second hour of the event was a new addition last year and it was a HUGE success. There were four local organizations that set up STEM related activities for the students and families to participate in. The activities portion of the night was a blast, and students and parents raved about it.
Virtual re-vamp-STEM Expo edition
It took a lot of collaboration and brainstorming, but I am thoroughly excited to have been able to figure out a way to hold the STEM Expo this year! The sign-up process transitioned from a physical form submission, to a google form submission (see the below link to the resources page to view all resources I created, including the sign-up google form). We also had to do A LOT more promotion virtually to reach as many students as possible. This was done through multiple emails to parents, reminders in the principal newsletters, information given our morning announcements, STEM Expo information packet posted on our school website, and much more. I myself incorporated the STEM Expo information into my virtual classroom. I included the bulletin board I made last year in my virtual homeroom classroom, and linked the information packet within the picture.
The information packet was linked to the “check it out” on the corner of the bulletin board
The presentation of projects had to shift from the typical trifold board display, to google slides. I decided to create a template so students have a starting point for their project display (see the link below to the resources page to access the presentation template). Once I receive all presentations, I plan to compile them all into one google slides presentation to share with all school families. This way, students and their families can look through all presentations, as if they came to the STEM Expo evening event in years past.
Students this year also have the opportunity to participate in a live presentation of their projects. This part was made optional, and it will be done through Zoom. This allows students the chance to talk about their projects to staff members and possibly other students, similarly to how they would during our evening event. Students who choose to participate in the live event will be given a 10 minute time slot during the week of our virtual STEM Expo. At that time, they will sign into a Zoom with staff members and possibly classmates, and be asked questions and given the opportunity to present their projects. This is a great opportunity for them to still be able to show off what they did to others.
To take the place of the second portion of our STEM Expo night, where we had STEM related activities set up for students and their families to enjoy, at the end of the presentation compilation of all student projects, there will be some recorded tutorials of STEM related activities that families can do at home on their own time. It is very unfortunate that after only one year of the addition to our STEM Expo with activities for families to enjoy that we could not do that again. I have high hopes though that once things return to normal, we will be able to do that again. For now, I am just very thankful we are able to provide some fun activities that families can do in the comfort of their own homes after enjoying student presentations.
The last major difference this year that I adapted was our recognition of students that completed projects. Normally, we have adorable medals for all our participants, but with virtual learning happening, it would be difficult to get medals to all of our participants. I decided to create a certificate that would still give each student recognition for participating in the STEM Expo (see the link below to the resources page to access the certificate template).
To be able to access all the resources I created, click HERE. It will take you to a page with links to all the resources, so that you can make your own copy and use for your own school’s virtual STEM Expo. I am so proud of the hard work it took to revamp our STEM Expo. Huge shout-out to my partner in crime for all your help in making this happen! I hope that other teachers can get some use out of the resources created, or even let this post give you a starting point for transitioning one of your school-community events to be virtual. These events are what students and families look forward to, so being able to successfully hold this event even in a pandemic, whether it looks different or not, gives everyone something to look forward to again!
Comment below or feel free to email me with questions, to seek more information, or to even ask for help with getting started on your virtual school-community event!
