lower school STEM
At Roland Park Country School, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is purposefully integrated into our school curriculum to expose our girls to all of these concepts in a coordinated and meaningful way. The mission of the Lower School STEM program is to spark and sustain curiosity, passion, confidence, and persistence in every learner, establishing the essential foundation needed to explore the empirical world. We achieve this by providing frequent opportunities for hands-on discovery, which helps students to practice foundational problem-solving skills and develop early creative reasoning abilities.
In an active and collaborative environment, participants learn the fundamentals of inquiry - how to ask questions, observe, collaborate effectively, and share their findings - preparing them to eventually plan research projects, synthesize new knowledge, and generate novel solutions as they pursue interests in the STEM disciplines.
Lower School Curriculum
In our K-4 STEM classes, students grow as curious thinkers, inventors, and problem-solvers. They explore coding and robotics through age-appropriate activities and design challenges that spark creativity, whether building machines, experimenting with circuits, or solving real-world problems.
Students build strong digital literacy skills, learning how to use technology safely and responsibly. Signature projects allow students to imagine, create, and share their ideas with confidence, preparing them to navigate both the digital world and the challenges of the future.
4 Pillars of K-12 STEM at RPCS
Our curriculum is built upon four core pillars that guide skill development at each grade level. In grades K-8, every student attends a STEM class that builds their knowledge and prepares them for Upper School.
Computational Thinking
The problem-solving approach that helps students break down big problems, spot patterns, create step-by-step solutions, and think logically. These skills are used in programming and everyday life.
Engineering Design Process
The iterative process that requires students to ask questions, imagine solutions, plan, create, test, and improve their designs.
Designing with Empathy
Every work of creation makes an impact, intended or not. Students need to consider their audience, as well as the purpose and reach of their design.
Ethical Use of Technology
Students learn to use technology safely, respectfully, and responsibly through understanding digital footprints, artificial intelligence, privacy, attribution, and making smart choices online.
Lower School STEAM Week
Every year in the spring, the entire Lower School participates in a themed STEAM Week! From learning about the human body, space, the ocean, and more, every year's theme is thoughtfully thought out to include relevant speakers, activities, projects, and field trips.
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"Week at the Beach" Themed Projects
Our "Week at the Beach" STEAM Week included multidisciplinary projects that incorporated different subjects. In the above photo, girls combined what they had learned that year in art, STEAM and math to create sandcastles out of recycled materials to specific measurements and using certain angles. The girls were very proud of all their unique creations!
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Guest Speaker: Thomas D. Jones, Ph.D.
During our outer space-themed STEAM Week, we welcomed scientist, author, pilot and NASA astronaut Thomas D. Jones, Ph.D.! Dr. Jones talked about his 30 year journey to becoming an astronaut, from falling in love with the space program at age 10, to applying three times to the NASA astronaut program before finally being accepted.
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Learning About the Body
Between going on field trips, listening to guest speakers, and creating impressive projects during our body-themed STEAM Week, our girls had the opportunities to check the health of each other and talked about how one of the school's core values, live healthy and be well, is important to our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.