Johnson Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Studies NASA Explorer School recently participated in a school-wide NASA engineering project. Students built the Johnson STEM International Space Station out of straws as Part I of their Space Day activities. The NASA inquiry-based activity titled, “Structure Building,” incorporated math, engineering, creativity, oral communication, critical thinking, and most importantly team building skills.

Each classroom also received a mini-lesson on the International Space Station, learning about its purpose, and how it took teams from 16 countries to build the magnificent NASA spacecraft. Each K-6 classroom was responsible for building a node of the Space Station. All 17 classrooms came together on the playground launch pad to connect their nodes to complete the structure. This NASA activity taught the skills that are important to any building structure, especially the construction of the International Space Station. This completed structure will be displayed at Johnson STEM Magnet’s Second Annual Space Day Event on July 1.

As a NASA Explorer School, the mission of Johnson STEM Magnet is to spark the interests of science, math and engineering in each and every student in order to create a vision for the next generation of explorers.

To learn more about other San Diego Unified Magnet schools, visit the Enrollment Options website.