Free meals provided to HCS students included STEM challenge cards

Homewood City Schools and McWane Science Center partnered on a new program to combine lunch and science together during the COVID-19 school closure.  

Homewood City Schools provided free meals to children under 18 during the school closures this spring, and each meal packet included a Science Challenge card provided by the education department at McWane Science Center. 

All of the activities on the cards were engineering challenges using only the materials from the meal kits. The cardboard, paper and plastic packaging that would usually end up in a recycling bin could be used to practice the steps of the engineering process and help solve problems, like building a bridge or creating something that can fly in the wind.    

The activities were suitable for people ages 3-99, McWane Science Center said in a statement.

“The great thing about STEM education is it has no age constraints,” the statement said. “These cards are geared towards students K through eighth grade with vocabulary and supplemental resources that require some reading. But with the help of an adult, even the youngest members of the family can have fun with the challenges.”

Typically, springtime is a season filled with field trips and outreach programs as students begin celebrating the end of the school year, the statement said. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, these activities had to be canceled.

“By providing the challenge cards, we hoped to continue to do what we do best: ‘spark wonder and curiosity about our world through hands-on science experiences,’” the statement read.

Submitted by Katie Baasen, McWane Science Center.