NAHANT — For an hour a week, students at the Johnson Elementary School get to be engineers and technicians.
Once a week, students in each grade has Science Technology Engineering Art and Math (STEAM) class with teacher Kristen Cahill, much like they would have art or gym class.
While kindergarteners are learning to create models of different shapes using jelly beans to hold together toothpicks, students in third through sixth grade are learning to code.
The course reinforces what they are already learning in their math, science, and art classes with hands-on activities.
“If I can do something to make school a little better and more exciting for them while they’re still developing the skills they need — it’s just the best,” said Cahill, who first started a STEAM class at Proctor Elementary School in Topsfield before bringing it to Nahant.
“I think once we’re adults, robotics will be a big thing,” said Emily Noci, 12. “When we grow up, if we want to be technologists, this will be helpful.”
Noci, who wants to be a forensic scientist, is learning how to program a Sphero SPRK+ robot with her class.
“I like how it connects fun toys for kids with learning,” said Max Manadee, 12. “We’ve already learned a lot.”
The Nahant Education Foundation donated seven of the spherical programmable robots — which resemble the Star Wars droid BB8 — about two months ago after Cahill reached out for support for the program. The robots are sold at Best Buy, Apple, and on other websites for $130 each.
Students used tablets to program the devices to take turns, change color, and move at different speeds.
The students are learning the basics of coding, which will be a foundation for more complex courses in the future, said Cahill, who compared it to when she learned how to type in elementary school.
“When we were in school, we weren’t doing this,” said Cahill, 30. “Coding and programming has become a 21st century skill and it needs to be incorporated in their curriculum.”
The Nahant Education Foundation will also sponsor an event with the Nahant Public Library in July and August that will allow children to experiment with the robots.
