Curiosity Cube brings fun STEM lessons to Pleasant Gap students

Something called the Curiosity Cube made its way to Pleasant Gap Elementary School to help expand student STEM knowledge in a fun and engaging way. Fourth-grade teacher Stacey Miller said students in third, fourth and fifth grades visited the apparatus and participated in three stations, which included experiments to answer a series of questions:

-What is the code for a healthy microbiome? With the help of a bacteria robot, students learned about what includes a microbiome.
-What is our microbiome made of? Using microscopes, students learned about – and explored – different bacteria that make up a microbiome.
-What does your microbiome look like? Students learned about the uniqueness of a microbiome, and using scientific lab tools, created a replica of the microbiome.

According to MilliporeSigma, the Curiosity Cube is a retrofitted shipping container that has been transformed into a mobile science lab and travels around the country for educational purposes through the company. It features interactive, hands-on science experiments led by its employees, which allows students to ask questions and discuss the possibilities of a future career in STEM subjects such as science, technology, engineering and math.

“Locally, we have MilliporeSigma as a business in our community,” Miller said. “A few years ago, a parent who worked there reached out to us about this amazing opportunity to expose our students to more STEM. We brought in the cube then and loved it.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the school was unable to have the opportunity, but this year connected with the company to bring it back to Pleasant Gap.