Pirates revel in STEM 'takeover'

Paintbrush Pirates had quite the treat last month, as guests from the University of Wyoming, Wyoming Game and Fish, Keyhole State Park, Devils Tower and more visited to join in a “takeover” of the school.

The schoolwide takeover included all things STEM and lasted all day long!

Students in all grade levels moved through different units, including physics, planets, plants, birds, beavers and engineering. In each area, students put their minds to the test in a variety of ways. They built miniature beaver dams, outlined their planet’s own unique environment, discovered how pressure inflates and deflates a variety of items and noticed how power (through the blowing of air) can cause a straw rocket to fly higher or further.

In each room, instructors tailored the learning to the grade level, adapting the instruction so the youngest and oldest in the school could be equally tested!

Here are a few of the cool tidbits Pirates picked up along the way:

Owls can’t actually move their eyeballs! And they can’t technically swivel their head all of the way around – just most of the way.

Venus’ atmosphere is made up of mostly carbon dioxide, which we as humans constantly breathe out!

Electricity likes to follow distinct pathways, which is why batteries need to be lined up a certain way.

Marshmallows shrivel up when pressure is added and then taken away inside a container but they’re still just as edible and only slightly chewy.