2022 Capstone Winning Projects

Congratulations to the Winning Teams!

Every year educators tour some of the biggest manufacturers and industries in the Tri-County region. Educators then create capstone projects from what they have learned to integrate how STEM is used in the real world directly into the classroom. Below are the Grand Champions and Runners up of the 2022 Tri-County STEMersion Institute. Learn about the winning projects and download the project materials to create a hands-on experience for your classroom. Each project is customizable, making it applicable across multiple grade levels and disciplines. Click below to bring the SC Port Authority and Volvo into your classroom today!

Learn About the Winning Projects and Download the Project Materials to Create a Hands-On Experience in Your Classroom.

GRAND CHAMPION

STEM THE SHIP

“STEM the Ship” connects teachings to the classroom by using science and engineering practices, including the processes and skills of scientific inquiry, to develop understandings of science content. This project mimics processes used at the SC Ports Authority to load shipping containers while considering weight distribution, compression, and balance. Skills emphasized in this project include

Students Will:

Build a paper ship similar to the ship in the project.
Build 60 cardboard or card stock containers based on three different sizes and shapes.
Load 60 containers on the new paper ship stacked 3 high and 4 wide.
Load the containers with various products (candies, marbles, paperclips, etc…)
Place the ship on marshmallows so they can measure the ship’s movement on each side.
Take a measurement at all 6 marshmallows before loading the ship.
Take a new measurement after loading the ship.
Repeat the measurements after each set of 10 until finished loading the ship.
Record all measurements on a data sheet.
Analyze data results.
Complete a ship pop quiz

*Instructors may choose to award badges to students based on students answering 6 pf 7 quiz questions correctly and completing all data sheets.

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RUNNER-UP

STEM IS IN THE AIR

“STEM the AIR: Filtration” puts students to the test using “Inquiry Based Experiments” to explore the effectiveness of different filtration systems on a variety of pollutants, investigating real world problems to explore real world solutions. Inspired by a hands on tour at Volvo, these educators developed this project to integrate STEM directly into the classroom. Students will research the problem, create and test hypothesis, and present their findings.

Students Will:

Determine the different materials to use to create the best air filter possible
Test the filtration ability of various materials with particles of different sizes, such as cocoa powder, glitter, sand, etc.
Blow a tablespoon of particles through a paper towel tube onto the material being tested
Determine efficacy based on the following criteria:
- Qualitative number of particles found on the opposite side of the tested material
- Distance (in centimeters) particles travelled past the tested material

*Instructors may choose to award badges based on student participation in the engineering design process

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RUNNER-UP

STEM THE AIR: PURIFIER

“STEM the AIR: Purifier” prompts students to respond to air purification issues in environmental and health industries. This project, based on information gathered from Volvo, integrates the Engineering Design Process directly in to the classroom. This project highlights an interdisciplinary approach that explores how STEM can be taught in non-traditional STEM related fields such as English, History, and Marketing.

Students Will:

Create an air purifier using at least five (5) common household items
Use the Engineering Design Process
Present a sales pitch to the class
Utilize the 5S and 5 Why steps to organize and construct the product
And individual students will create a report about product improvements

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