Field trips at Wauwatosa STEM are integral to the mission of the school and its vision of providing environments where students are inspired to inquire, investigate and discover the world around them. They are viewed as extensions of the classroom. All experiences are curriculum driven and are planned to enhance certain areas of study. Creating authentic learning experiences associated with the core STEM expectations has become an important educational practice at WSTEM.
Our field trips facilitate the learning of abstract concepts and improve long-term retention of concepts. Our beyond-the-classroom experiences are intended to develop a social consciousness and an increased appreciation for the phenomenon being studied. The field trips are designed to immerse the students in the experience while motivating students through increased interest and curiosity.
Field trips are a sustaining complement to the WSTEM classroom curriculum. In past years, field trips have included performances at First Stage Children’s Theatre, classes at the Milwaukee County Zoo, engineering challenges to learn the physics of bowling, and skiing. While skiing, students learn to control their “bodies as machines,” like stopping, falling, turning and even climbing – illustrating the laws of physics. Other science lessons between ski lessons include the study of simple machines (younger students), friction, speed (acceleration/deceleration/constant speed), force, power, gravity, potential and kinetic energy (older students).