As part of the Summer STEAM Academy, Penn-Trafford teachers Mrs. Oliver and Mr. Pompilio hosted the “Amazing Construction Camp” at Sunrise Elementary in June. Each day, students in grades 1-5 learned about living things and how they inspire many of the inventions used today. This biomimicry can be seen everywhere, like the climbing ivy plant inspiring solar ivy panels and gecko feet inspiring adhesives. The students applied their new knowledge to build, collaborate, and create their own inventions.
Elementary students design a tube transportation system using air pressure, which is modeled after the shipworm that tunnels through tree trunks
After learning about snow geese migration patterns, students made different wing shapes on rubber band-propelled planes, then experimented with which shape flies well and can be steered
2nd-grader William Nicely takes his fingerprints after learning how the pads on gecko and frog feet have inspired gripping inventions
While learning about sticky substances like tape, honey, and glue, students used digital microscopes to discover that adhesives are bumpy, not smooth when magnified