Fourth graders at Mills Pond Elementary School worked together in small groups to design a vehicle with a restraint system that would keep an egg safe during impact.

As part of a Project Lead the Way lesson, and in conjunction with their energy and collisions unit, the students were tasked keeping their egg protected during an impact. Using their vex kits, the students first created a vehicle. They were given a list of components they could use to keep their egg safe, including bubble wrap, aluminum foil, cotton, pipe cleaners, rubber bands, plastic wrap and pipe cleaners. They could use any or all of the materials in the kit to protect their eggs during impact. The eggs also had to be easily removed from the vehicle.

After testing their engineering and design skills with a plastic egg, the students used ramps and put their designs to the test to see if they indeed could keep their real eggs safe.

General music students in Mr. Bielski’s class at Accompsett Middle School discovered a unique instrument during their class on Jan. 27. After watching online videos about it, they tried their hands at playing the theremin. The theremin is an electronic instrument that can be played without being touched. It uses two antennae; one that controls pitch and another that controls volume. The antennae create an electromagnetic field and players move their hands over the magnetic box to create different sounds. After each student played the theremin, the class created music together using drums, bells and tambourines.