Science Teacher Ryan Hopper and his students use a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) approach to studying the complexities of the solar system. Why? According to many experts, creative skills and knowledge of the arts—such as design, writing, and history—help students solve problems in more innovative ways.

“The students had a lot of freedom to choose how they were going to complete the solar system assignment,” explains Mr. Hopper. “Making choices and seeing things through to completion in creative ways makes projects highly engaging for our students.”

The purpose of this project was clearly laid out beforehand. Each student needed to show their understanding of “scale” in the solar system, including how far each planet is from the sun, and how big each planet is relative to other planets. They needed to research and group the eight planets according to their intrinsic differences and similarities, using statistical comparison. Finally, they needed to create a persuasive argument for visiting the planets, by designing a poster or writing a narrative.

Once they understood the project, each student then had complete freedom to choose how they were going to complete it. One student built their solar system scale model using a 3D printer, which included moving gears that revolved each planet around the sun, while others drew the planets in realistic detail, with the swirling clouds of Jupiter created in watercolors and acrylics. Some students designed their persuasive poster in Notability, while others wrote a compelling brochure, incorporating visuals, facts, and clever copy. 

Choosing how they would complete this project encourages exploration, modification, and the pursuit of each student’s ideas and curiosity.