Hosting Organization: Edward T. Bowser Elementary School
County: Essex
On March 5, 2025, Bowser Elementary School in East Orange School District, Essex, New Jersey, hosted the Brain Builders Family STEM Day, an exciting event designed to engage students and their families in hands-on STEM activities. The event, organized with the support of dedicated staff members and volunteers, provided an opportunity for students to explore
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through interactive workshops and activities.
Event Highlights
The day kicked off with parents signing in and enjoying refreshments while being introduced to the event’s objectives through a PowerPoint presentation. Meanwhile, staff members prepared the activity stations, ensuring an engaging and smooth experience for all participants.
Throughout the event, students rotated through two 45-minute STEM activity sessions, where they explored various scientific and engineering concepts. Some of the featured activities included:
- Book Tasting – Encouraging literacy through interactive reading sessions.
- Slime Lab – A hands-on chemistry experiment creating slime.
- Finger Knitting – A creative session integrating math and fine motor skills.
- Lego Engineering – Encouraging problem-solving and structural design.
- SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) – Building teamwork and communication through STEM-
based social learning activities. - Build-a-Book – Encouraging storytelling and creativity in writing.
- Sphero Indi Coding – Hands-on robotics and coding activities.
- Engineering Ramps – Teaching physics and motion through ramp-building experiments.
During lunch, a friendly Chef Competition was set up, adding a unique element to the day by combining STEM concepts with culinary arts. After the activity sessions, parents and students gathered back in the cafeteria for additional fun, including a photo booth, vendor displays, and taste testing for the Chef Competition. Brain Builders Family STEM Day was a great success, sparking curiosity and enthusiasm for STEM among students and their families. Events like these play a crucial role in fostering a love for science and engineering while strengthening the school-community partnership.