Students in every grade take weekly STEM classes at Maria Regina. Students in our Early Childhood Program begin by building with different materials. They build with blocks, playdoh, cloud sand and other materials. Our primary school students take part in Lego Brick Labs. It exposes them to ideas about construction and engineering. Two classes became part of NASCAR's Acceleration Nation, building paper racecars that they put through their paces. First grade used the cars as part of a unit on simple machines, while our third grade students will use their cars to learn about force and motion. They will test their cars on tracks made out of different materials to learn about force and friction. In our intermediate and middle school STEM classes, students participate in a variety of challenges. This year they have learned about earthquake proof construction and built craft stick houses that would withstand the punishment of the shake table. They also took part in Halloween and Christmas Lego challenges, creating Lego sculptures with a holiday theme. There's always something exciting going on in STEM class.