STEM & STEAM

Sixth Grade students put their knowledge of the Law of Conservation of Energy together with their understanding of forces and simple machines to build Rube Goldberg Machines. A Rube Goldberg Machine is a complex machine to complete a simple task. Often these machines combine “chain reactions” with simple machines such as pulleys, levers, and wheel and axles to toast bread, flip a switch or push a button. Students utilize content knowledge and creative engineering skills and practice resiliency and the power of “yet” with a growth mindset in order to be successful in this challenge.

Upper School biology students engineer freshwater terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems using core ecological principles of energy transfer, niche/habitat, carrying capacity, limiting factors, cycling of matter, trophic pyramids and photosynthesis. Students build their designs, seal up their bottles, and collect quantitative data of pH, dissolved oxygen, soil fertility, temperature, and total dissolved solids. Qualitative observations on the health of aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna are recorded and changes are made to the ecosystem over four weeks to keep it in balance. An ecobottle “autopsy” is done at the end of the investigation to assess overall health of the ecosystem, and all biotic and abiotic items are returned to the environment or recycled.

A long-term study of meal worms reveals the changes these insects undergo throughout their lives. Students receive a larva—the mealworm—which they name, feed, and create a home for. Over the course of a few weeks, they make regular observations of the insects. During this time they make graphs of the stages the insects are in, perform simple experiments with their specimen, and provide care and feeding for the insects.

Upper School Physics students look forward to the annual Egg Drop Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to drop an egg from the Tippit Gymnasium balcony and hit their teacher on the head. The teacher walks in a straight line and matches their steps to a constant beat. Students must determine what measurements to take, how to use those measurements and calculate where the teacher should be when they drop the egg. Finally, they have to come up with a plan to communicate with each other so the person on the balcony knows when to drop the egg, taking into account human reaction time. This project has become an annual all-community attraction with spectators from all divisions of the school.

Seventh Graders use the power of osmosis to make pickles! While studying the way salt affects plant cells and what osmosis reveals about the inner workings of the cell, students in Seventh Grade harness this phenomena to preserve cucumbers. An ancient practice for putting up food before refrigeration, pickling brine draws water out of the cucumber while also creating an environment inhospitable to bad microorganisms, fostering healthy microbes and improving taste.

During the Third Grade, students study the unique adaptations of birds! This interdisciplinary unit combines studies in science, technology, math, engineering, art and even French. Students dissect eggs and learn about each structure and its function in protecting the chick. They run a beak adaptation experiment that answers the question about which bird uses which shape/size of beak, and they identify winter birds using careful observation skills and field marks. During the unit, students use the Merlin app to identify birds by sound. They also explore the diversity of eggs (a unique bird adaptation) by weighing and measuring eggs from different species. Students also use measurement skills to collect data on bird features like beak, wingspan, and tail length. Students use the engineering design process to brainstorm, plan, create and make iterations to build nests that hold eggs in a tree. In art, students learn about bird proportion and shape to complete realistic scientific illustrations of birds they study in their National Park unit, complete with labels using French language vocabulary words.

After learning about a broad variety of fabric and fiber techniques and materials, Upper School students are challenged to choose an area of interest, brainstorm a unique idea, and dive deep into their own independent projects. Projects have included creating tufted rugs, designing costumes, stitching or crocheting clothing, and altering vintage shoes.

Laurel’s Environmental Justice (EJ) Semester is open to Tenth and Eleventh Grade girls from any public, private, charter or parochial school in Northeast Ohio. Imagine spending a “semester away” alongside passionate changemakers, learning from experts in the field, and contributing to meaningful positive change in Northeast Ohio and beyond. The learner-centered Semester takes place on Laurel’s 150-acre Butler Campus in Novelty, Ohio, which offers a natural space with terrestrial, aquatic, and agricultural ecosystems for student changemakers to devise solutions for the ecological and social challenges facing urban Cleveland, a rustbelt city grappling with many environmental and social justice issues.

Each spring, Fourth Graders display their research made possible by their Power & Purpose experiential learning curriculum at the Butler Campus. A culmination of a year's worth of exploration in scientific field research, library research, applied mathematics, informational writing, and more. They study a variety of topics from local and invasive species at Butler, to the age of the oak trees in Butler’s forest. These Power & Purpose "passion projects" are a favorite part of the Fourth Grade experience.

During their Eastern Woodlands immersion at the Butler Campus, Second Graders learn about the signs and signals of animals in the forest. They use their new skills to follow the markings of deer to its resting place—scrapes, rubs, tracks and scat lead the way to their quarry.

Eleventh and Twelfth Grade Principles of Engineering students test their skills as part of their "structures" unit by creating a chair out of cardboard that measures at least 18" off the ground. Chairs require a back and have to hold the weight of their teacher. Students prepare by creating detailed Orthographic and Isometric drawings of their chairs, plus build 3D models using CAD software. A key challenge for the project is that students cannot use any tape or adhesives to construct their chairs.