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Cedarburg elementary 'Girls in STEAM' club grows after COVID pause; students demonstrate experiments and projects
Summary
Elementary students and staff told the board that Girls in STEAM resumed after a COVID hiatus, now runs at all three elementary schools, and features hands‑on projects from microbiology tests to wearable heat‑press shirts and upcoming circuitry lessons.
Presenters at the March 19 Cedarburg School Board meeting described the district’s Girls in STEAM clubs and brought students to show projects and explain what they learned.
Sherry Rowe, the district elementary math coach, told the board the program began in February 2019 at Parkview, paused during the COVID pandemic, and restarted with a large Saturday event in 2022 that helped relaunch clubs across all three elementary schools in 2023. Principals Katie Ramos (Westlawn) and Britney Cleva (Parkview) introduced students who described activities including data‑storytelling projects, makerspace work, heat‑press shirt‑making and a microbiology demonstration testing the so‑called “five‑second rule.”
Students demonstrated varied learning outcomes: one student described building a pencil‑tower and using teamwork and perseverance; another recounted testing French fries on the floor, incubating samples and documenting bacterial growth, which the students said showed more growth the longer the food contacted the floor. Presenters also said the clubs have drawn volunteers from local industry and community members — for example, a keynote from Milwaukee Tool during a restart event — and that an electrical engineer will lead a paper‑circuit activity this year.
Teachers and principals told the board the clubs fill quickly (an elementary club referred to filled within two hours at registration), help introduce girls in grades 3–5 to STEM careers and tie to the district’s design and engineering process curriculum. The board thanked students and staff and suggested capturing photos and short video of the microbiology results for district records.
A student‑led portion of the presentation included a small science fair display and keepsakes such as T‑shirts signed by a visiting author who led a Daphne Draws Data activity; principals said the clubs emphasize exposure to careers and hands‑on learning across art, engineering, coding and science.
