At Hawthorn Academy’s STEM Night, students ran a farmers’ market showcasing what they’ve learned through the Green Our Planet grant.

“When we got the STEM Action Center grant, we started our hydroponics and greenhouse and thought STEM Night was a perfect opportunity to showcase what the students are learning,” Joy Leavitt said, school STEAM coordinator.  

Students from all grades contributed. Kindergartners and first-graders painted pots and garden rocks, while second graders studied seed dispersal and grew trees. Third graders learned plant lifecycles and dried flowers. Fourth graders explored erosion and energy with a rock tumbler. Fifth graders focused on photosynthesis and built birdhouses.

“Students planted flower seeds and watched them grow and identified the process and parts of the plant as it happened,” Leavitt said.

Sixth graders studied matter and energy; they made lemon lip balm infused with olive oil.

“We also had students plant lettuce seeds into sponges as a form of hydroponics and plant tulips around the school and vegetables in the school garden,” she said.

The event drew 400 families—double the previous year’s attendance. Presentations by Utah State Space Dynamics Lab, Nerdly Tutoring and ham radio groups complemented classroom activities.

Laura Houtz, who attended the event with her three children, checked out the farmers’ market.

“We liked the farmers’ market and Mayley (kindergartner) bought slime and some lip balm,” Houtz said. “We’re looking to buy a plant. My second grader is volunteering as the cashier so it’s fun to see her working in that experience.”

Brianna Dekorte was headed to make Shrinky Dink sun catchers with her boys — third-grader Cameron, first-grader Jack and 1-year-old Hunter.

“They were excited to come and try some of the activities,” she said.

Jack liked making a tornado in the bottle best.

His older brother added: “You have to get enough momentum to make it really cool; that’s the trick.”

English language arts teacher Lisa Wilson tied science into her fifth graders’ writing assignments.

 “We’ve linked writing to science; recently they wrote an opinion piece on which natural disaster was the most destructive - tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and floods,” she said. “Tonight is engaging for the students; we give kids hands-on opportunities to create, to grow, to build, to explore. They’re also proud to show their families what they learned and how they met the standards in an interactive way.”λ