Fred the Worm!

Today for S.T.E.M. Friday (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) the class got to participate in saving Fred the Worm.  Fred the Worm (a.k.a. a gummy worm) was riding on his boat while wearing a life jacket.  His boat tipped over and somehow his life jacket managed to get underneath his boat, but luckily Fred managed to stay on top of the boat.  The task for this afternoon was that the students had to help get Fred his life jacket back on and get back on top of the boat.  Doesn't really sound like that bad of a task, right?  Well, the students quickly found out that they couldn't touch Fred, his life jacket, or his boat with their hands.  All they were able to use was 4 paperclips.  At first each of the students decided that this would be easy.  After about 15 minutes of struggling to get poor Fred his life jacket, there were definitely some frustrated students in room 106 today.  Some students began pairing up and finding ways to help each other by using an extra set of hands to help save Fred.  By the end of the task, every single student was able to get Fred the Worm in his life jacket and back on top of his boat.  It was so great to see the students so excited about something so small.  One of the big things with S.T.E.M. Friday is that it gives the students a chance to be challenged and maybe venture into an area they wouldn't think is normally their regular comfort level.  While saving Fred the Worm, as with all S.T.E.M. activities, the students were constantly talking and discussing ways that might actually work to solve the problem.  The class today was definitely using their problem solving and critical thinking skills.  The pictures might give you an idea of what the students had to work with today.