Photos: BHS Celebrates STEAM Week
Bermuda High School students are wrapping up their final few days of term with a celebration of their STEAM curriculum.
A spokesperson said, “Secondary students are participating in various activities arranged over a period of 4 days, known as STEAM Week, while students in the Primary department will enjoy STEAM Day.
“Since opening the Innovation Centre in 2020, BHS has developed and supported a full-bodied STEAM curriculum. While many schools on the island have implemented STEM programmes, Bermuda’s only girls school felt that it was essential to embrace the importance of the Arts. Exceedingly popular with the BHS student body, the Arts play an essential role in development and continuously intersect with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in many ways. This is particularly true when considering the aesthetic side of disciplines such as programming, architecture, app development, and website design, to name a few.
“STEAM Week enhances the educational experience of the STEAM curriculum by allowing students to apply their learning to real-world situations. This year, students had the option to take part in a myriad of opportunities, including:
- an archaeological dig
- PADI certified scuba diving
- flight in a small aircraft
- exploring stage production
- food sustainability and innovative farming practices
- and much more
“These activities are taking place across the island with the support of several local agencies. A STEAM curriculum isn’t just about becoming an expert in the related academic areas, it is also about having the ability to utilise the skills that our students learn to collaborate and solve problems using a variety of approaches and technologies. It is with this vision in mind that each of the STEAM Week activities was selected. Each activity has been developed around a problem which the students must solve. At the end of the week, each group will create and present a video identifying the problem at hand and providing a solution.
“While students from the Secondary Department will be exploring STEAM across the island, Primary students will participate in various activities in their classrooms and year groups. The Early Years Programme will focus on experiments featuring light boxes and clouds, while Year 1 will work in small groups to create imaginary creatures and habitats. Students in Year 2 will generate fireworks in a jar, while Year 3 will incorporate Skittles into math, art, and science projects. In Upper Primary, there will be a pyramid-building challenge, a math mystery, and the construction of an earthquake-safe tower. Our oldest Primary students will be challenged creatively, as they will have to work in groups to create runway-ready shoes with a single newspaper, tape, scissors, and 1m of yarn!”
Head of School Carol A. Swainson remarked about the celebrations, “STEAM allows students to apply academic learning in a hands-on way while exploring their interests both in and outside the classroom.”
