Atlantic Ave Magazine - June 2019

unity school
Creating Future Scientists
By Carlie Partridge | Photos by Bea Byers
At Unity School of Delray Beach, science comes
to life! Year-round research and design projects
engage students in an immersive stem curriculum.
This Spring, 6th graders went on a class trip to Marine Lab
in the Florida Keys where they studied the marine ecosystems
of our state. Upon their return, they transformed one
of Unity School’s technology classrooms into an interactive “museum”
and designed activities for Unity’s elementary-age students.
Younger students were invited as “museum guests” allowing 6th
graders to share their knowledge and inspire other students. This
is just one example of Unity’s innovative, school-wide approach to
celebrating scientific learning!
Each year, student projects are showcased on campus at Unity’s
annual Future Scientists and Engineers Conference (FSEC).
The FSEC event transcends the model of a traditional science fair.
Melissa Hassan, an Innovation Specialist at Unity, sees the conference
as a way to deepen student learning.
“FSEC was inspired by the idea that students should have an opportunity
to put on their scientist and engineer ‘hats’ and present
their work to an authentic audience, in a conference style setting,
just as adults would,” said Mrs. Hassan.
Students in grades 4 through 8 participated in the 2019 FSEC,
and families attended as guests. “The conference this year started
out with a keynote speaker, former Unity School student Joseph
Rubsamen. Currently a senior at Oxbridge Academy, Mr. Rubsamen
shared his research investigating wastewater chemical composition
in our local waterways. “Bringing Mr. Rubsamen in as keynote
speaker was inspiring and showed how Unity School students can
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Unity School’s technology classroom transformed into an interactive Florida ecosystems museum
begin making an impact on their local communities through their
scientific endeavors,” said Mrs. Hassan.
At this year’s FSEC conference, the exhibit hall showcased 4th
grade experiments including poster presentations and experiment
demonstrations. 5th grade students shared their Rube Goldberg Machines--complex
machines designed to do simple tasks. 7th graders
showcased their design thinking with an inventions project.
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Teachers and students gather at FSEC to watch dragster cars race. The cars
were designed and printed by Unity School 8th grade technology students