Finley Farms Students Launch New STEM Club

Earlier this school year, Finley Farms students represented the largest single-district delegation of Chief Science Officers (CSOs) in the United States at a meeting for the Leadership Training Institute (LTI). These students gathered for one mission: to move beyond being just students of science and become advocates for it. After months of planning, collaborating with industry professionals, and setting goals, Finley Farms’ Chief Science Officers are seeing their visions come to life.

The CSOs at Finley Farms decided to focus their efforts on creating an inclusive STEM environment for their peers by launching a new STEM Club for 5th and 6th-graders. These student leaders take the lead on every aspect of the club, from planning weekly activities to facilitating the sessions under the supervision of a teacher advisor. For their first major challenge, the CSOs led their peers through a structural engineering task: building bridges using only spaghetti and marshmallows. The CSOs assessed each bridge based on its load-bearing capacity, the creativity of the design, and how well the teams worked together. By facilitating these hands-on challenges, the Finley Farms CSOs are providing a space for their fellow students to grow their love for science and engineering right on their home campus.

To learn more about Activities and Clubs at Finley Farms Elementary, visit FinleyFarms.GilbertSchools.net/Clubs-Activities.