Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, that is. A collaboration between eight Chemung County agencies is mid-way through a year full of free and seriously awesome programming for kids at three Elmira community centers.
Frontline, Transformations, and Southside community center kids get to do hands-on and creative activities:
- The first program was Sept. 20th at the Southside Community Center when the Science and Discovery Center, in Elmira, taught the children at the center how to build cardboard and wooden ribs, that when joined together, form a lightweight, but sturdy wing.
- The Chemung County Historical Society focuses on birds and local history, like the story of the last Labrador Duck killed in Elmira; and the heavy use of birds and feathers in ladies’ hats during the Victorian era. Kids get to create their own bird-friendly hats!
- Tanglewood introduce students to live native owl and hawk, and share how birds live, eat, nest, fly and migrate.
- Community Arts of Elmira and the students use birds as inspiration for art and poetry projects to be displayed at a public reception at the end of the program.
- Chemung River Friends teaches the students about the fish hawks that live and nest on the Chemung River, and leads students on a guided hike to a river osprey nest.
- At the Corning Museum of Glass, students go bird watching in the museum’s galleries, identifying birds in glass and exploring how birds inspired glassmakers throughout history.
The program is financed with a $4,682 grant from the Triangle Fund in Corning, and a $500 grant from the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes.
Well, the kids are having a blast, learning a ton, getting their creative genius on, and exploring outside. Tanglewood educator Laine Sempler has been impressed with the children participating in the program: “The way I teach a lot of times – I ask questions, and they teach me, so I get to know what knowledge the kids already have and where we can keep investigating. At Transformations, the older kids were really engaging the younger kids and encouraging them to ask questions and fill in the gaps. The older kids were great models in science! All of the children really enjoyed meeting Sophie the Great-Horned Owl as well – their eyes were almost as big as hers!”
At the end of the year, the children will have a gallery opening to show community members what they have created and learned over the course of STEAM Ahead Chemung.
Elmiraland is a website, blog, and social media presence dedicated to everything Elmira. Taking time to enjoy what’s around us; always looking forward to what’s next!