Science (Steam)

Westminster is a place where students are continuously challenged in all of the components of STEAM- Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. Within these five components, our school offers several exciting academic programs and enrichments that provide all students with opportunities for collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. All of our instructional STEAM programs and enrichments involve hands-on experiences to reach all students of our culturally diverse magnet school.

 

STEAM is not a single subject, but rather, something that spans across multiple core content areas in every classroom with opportunities for implementation of different learning modalities in order to reach all students not only during the school day, but also connecting to their daily lives outside of school. At Westminster, we believe that a focus on STEAM Education helps to foster inquisitive minds by allowing students to be curious about the world around them, use creativity to solve problems, and ask questions about how they can improve their community.

 

STEAM will help to prepare our students with real-world applicable skills such as analytical thinking, cooperation and teamwork, digital literacy, and verbal/written communication; these skills will give all Westminster students the best opportunity for success for their future in our rapidly evolving world.

 

The Science Lab is run by a full-time STEAM teacher; classes from TK through 5th grade visit the lab anywhere from one to two times per week in order to participate in engaging, collaborative, NGSS-aligned explorations (using curricula and materials from FOSS, the California Science Center Community, Mystery Science, Generation Genius, and other standards-based content). 

 

Additionally, Grades TK through 5th are also able to see their Life Science lessons come alive further in a living learning laboratory as they experience ecology, plant biology, nutrition, and horticulture in our school gardens. Once a week, Westminster students visit the garden, run by master gardener volunteers from the Venice community. Aside from planting, tending to, harvesting, cooking, and eating various types of produce, students are able to observe what organisms are living within our gardens and learn how each living thing is necessary to balance its ecosystem (from the producers that they plant to the decomposers in our compost). Students are also able to observe first-hand the effect that our changing environment can have on the garden, from rain to drought to other climate- based effects- students think about how they can create habits now that will help to improve our planet’s environment in the future.