Students at Goethe Elementary School Receive Hands-On STEM experiences with SAE’s A World In Motion® (AWIM®) Program
Posted: July 3, 2023
SAE’s A World In Motion® (AWIM®) program is changing the lives of elementary students in Chicago.
Last year, The SAE Foundation was contacted by Nicole Dalesandro, a parent in the Goethe Elementary School district in Chicago, Illinois after realizing that her children’s school had limited resources for STEM education programming.
The SAE Foundation got to work with the parent and educators in the district to bring AWIM programming to Goethe Elementary with the help of the Spectris Foundation.
For the 2022-2023 school year, the Spectris Foundation awarded £10,000 grant to the SAE Foundation, designated to help over 300 school children in Spectris communities across the US gain access to STEM education.
Thanks to this partnership, 10 Goethe Elementary classrooms ranging from pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade received AWIM kits. The school began implementing the AWIM programming starting in May as part of their end-of-year projects. The different classrooms completed a variety of AWIM challenges appropriate to their grade level, including Straw Rockets, Engineering Inspired by Nature, JetToy, We Explore Weather and Rolling Things.
“I was very happy when my son came home and told me about the new project he was building with a team in his fourth grade classroom,” said Dalesandro. “He rarely tells me about anything other than recess, so I could tell he was excited!”
Alicia Bott, corporate development and engagement officer of the SAE Foundation, visited the school on May 31st and saw the students in action. It was a moving experience for Bott.
“Goethe Elementary doesn't have the resources other schools might have, and they're craving hands-on STEM-related materials. Getting to see these students working hands-on with the AWIM kits, their excitement was incredible," she said. “Giving this to a school with such a need, I think, is even more special, because otherwise these kids would go without STEM training and until maybe they got to middle school or high school.”
With a mission to inspire every student, to spark curiosity, to create a world where STEM education can nourish minds and awaken dreams, the SAE Foundation wants to ensure more young learners have access to life-changing STEM education.
Learn more about opportunities with SAE’s AWIM program here.