Engineering Is Elementary

Schools: Collings Lakes Elementary School, Dr. JP Cleary Elementary School, and John C. Milanesi Elementary School (Buena)
Teacher: Beckie Neri
County / Level:  Atlantic / Elementary
Grant: $12,500
Date: April 2026

The purpose of this grant is to foster early interest in the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program in the elementary schools in the Buena School District with the use of hands-on learning materials, building foundational skills in engineering, computer science, and encouraging cross-curricular, project-based learning. The students will follow the engineering design process - Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve - to solve problems.

Legos and KEVA Planks

Legos and KEVA planks offer significant engineering benefits by fostering spatial reasoning, structural understanding, and problem solving skills to young students. Legos provide principles of structural integrity and geometry. They help students learn about balance, stability and load-bearing by designing towers, houses, and bridges by exploring concepts like tension and compression. Legos are used in various STEAM projects including the Billy Goats Gruff fairytale projects where kindergarten students build a lego bridge over a paper pond after hearing the story.

KEVA planks are uniform planks that are excellent for exploring gravity, balance, leverage, and friction. The identical planks allow students to build complex structures without connectors. Students can be challenged with how to use them to create diverse shapes, promote creativity and open-ended thinking. Building with KEVA planks develops fine and gross motor skills.