Alpine Crest Elementary School
Lab description
Grade Levels:
K-5
Alpine Crest’s VW eLab is a dynamic space where young scientists, engineers and creators explore STEM concepts. Designed for elementary learners, this hands‑on lab fosters curiosity, creativity and teamwork. Students build, code and experiment through real‑world challenges, learning by doing and growing confident as future thinkers, makers and problem solvers.
VW eLab Specialist
Kerri Stidham
Kerri Stidham is excited to inspire young thinkers as Alpine Crest’s VW eLab Specialist. With more than 15 years in education, she is passionate about hands‑on, meaningful learning across multiple grades and subjects. In the eLab she encourages creativity, curiosity and confidence as students build, code and explore the world around them.
Lab Impact
When Alpine Crest opened its VW eLab, it became a world of discovery where curiosity leads the way and every child can think, create and dream like a scientist or engineer. Students in the elementary grades explore STEM concepts through hands‑on projects and digital fabrication. They design, build, code and experiment, learning that mistakes are part of the process and that perseverance leads to improvement. A fourth‑grade class applied lessons on force, motion, speed and friction to design roller coasters using cardboard, straws, tape and glue. Moments like these show how hands‑on learning builds confidence and gives every child a chance to shine, especially those who may struggle in traditional classrooms. In the eLab every student can lead, ask questions and imagine endless possibilities. Through STEM they develop collaboration, communication and critical‑thinking skills that prepare them for the future. More important, they see themselves as capable creators and problem solvers. The eLab is not just about building projects; it is about building mindsets, resilience and a lasting love for discovery. Students also cooked pancakes to see ingredients change, exciting a previously struggling fifth grader who explained the science. Families attend maker nights to code robots and craft ornaments. Ms. Stidham leads after‑school clubs that design costumes and support pollinator habitats, fostering curiosity and inclusion.
Project Highlights
In the VW eLab at Alpine Crest, learning comes to life. When a fifth grader struggled to connect science concepts to real life, cooking pancakes helped him see how batter transforms. He observed mixing as a physical change and heating as a chemical change, then wrote about the difference with newfound confidence. Fourth graders design roller coasters to study force and motion, brainstorming, building and testing until their models work. Third graders write fairy tales and use digital fabrication to build settings and props for their stories. Second graders design simple machines to help in the school garden. First graders create dioramas of habitats and code BeeBots to navigate through them. In after‑school clubs, students design costumes, build pollinator gardens and create stencils for murals. Family maker nights invite parents to code robots, craft ornaments and build lanterns alongside their children. Teachers weave eLab activities into reading, writing, math and science. Students keep journals and reflections and share work at exhibition nights, gaining confidence and resilience. Students apply math to calculate track lengths and angles, test loops and record results. They discuss friction and gravity and refine designs. The fairy tale project blends writing and art as students illustrate characters and fabricate miniature stages. In the garden project, students research pollinators, design raised beds, build models and present proposals to the PTA before planting flowers and installing signage. Maker nights feature challenges like building spaghetti towers or paper circuits. These varied experiences teach that creativity and perseverance lead to innovation, that failure is part of learning and that their ideas can make a difference. As the VW eLab grows, students dream bigger and share at exhibit nights.
