Excitement and curiosity arose as students and families explored hands-on activities at Sandy Elementary’s recent STEAM night. 

Many students and their families rotated through a variety of interactive stations; from Tetris puzzles and K’Nex challenges to building circuits, experimenting with magnets and testing out the speed of Matchbox cars flying down the track on the stage steps, each was designed with purpose.

For example, Sandy Elementary Instructional Coach Leigh Anstadt oversaw one that focused on number sense.

“Here, they’re learning how to use visual cues to solve problems and how to work together collaboratively,” she said.

At another station, third-grader Jayden Villalba was doing activities with his dad, Pabo. They rotated between stations so Jayden could fill his bingo card to earn a prize.

“We’re having fun, and I get to see friends, too,” he said.

Seeing friends was one of the initial reasons fourth-grader Jaxon Olsen came, said his mother, Ashley.

Once Jaxon was there, he wanted to try some of the activities.

“There’s a cool marble station we can try,” he said.

Beyond the opportunity to build community and spend time with family, Anstadt said students were building skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving.

“I appreciate the vertical alignment of concepts across grades,” she said. “It gives everyone opportunity.”