Fifth Grade STEAMs Ahead

Submitted by Stephanie Crumbling

Students in Mrs. Crumbling’s fifth grade math classes at Indian Rock Elementary have been working on STEAM projects throughout the year. As a final activity for the year, students designed, created, decorated and tested popcorn containers. After reading about 293 ancient popcorn kernels that were found in a bat cave in New Mexico, students used a ten-piece sample of popcorn to estimate the volume of a container that would hold 293 pieces of popped corn. Working in collaborative groups, students constructed rectangular prisms, cylinders and cones in a variety of sizes.  After testing, the groups reflected on the process and made any changes to their designs. The winning group created a cone-shaped container with a lid that held all of the 293 pieces, which were promptly eaten!