STEM Science Lab

Revolutionizing STEM in Physical Science Experiments

Polytech presents STEM Science Lab, a comprehensive method for Educational Boards to seamlessly integrate STEM principles into science laboratory experiments at upper elementary and high school levels.

Our mission is to elevate science education by integrating STEM methodology into Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology experiments, ensuring hands-on learning.

Listen to the Deep Dive Podcast

Explore the exciting world of science with the STEM Science Lab podcast! Discover how educators use cutting-edge tools to bring Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology to life, making experiments more efficient and engaging. Join us to uncover the exciting possibilities of STEM learning!

Overview

The STEM Science Lab (SsL) is a complete educational solution to help educators efficiently plan & conduct curriculum-specific science experiments using custom designed laboratory equipment and a PC or Android tablet.

Key Features

Digital Data Acquisition Systems – Enables precise measurements.
Embedded Theoretical Resources – Provides real-time guidance.
Versatile Electronic Components – Sensors, switches, LEDs, and more.
Open-Source Software – Offers flexibility and customization.

With SsL, educators adapt traditional experiments and conduct them with greater ease, speed, and accuracy, while students gain deeper insights by modeling experiments and applying Physical Computing principles in STEM-based activities.

Additionally, an optional Classroom Response System (CRS) enables real-time quizzes, questionnaires, and assessments, tracking both individual and class-wide performance.

Role-Based Structure

The STEM Science Lab consists of three key components:

Teacher’s Set BT11 Teacher STEM Lab Kit – Includes lab apparatus and plug-and-play connected sensors that interface wirelessly or via USB with a PC for data analysis via the iLab application.
Student’s Set (shared) SMART:Blox S5 Student STEM Set – Features an Arduino-based microprocessor connected to electronic components (digital/analog), along with software for programming them. Students can either use:
- STEMLab application, a prebuilt library of ready experiments that addresses the theory principles prior to the student activity, providing a step-by-step combination of Theory and Practice for each topic
- ARD:icon block programming application to construct and code their own STEM activity
Classroom Response System (Academus CRS) – Enables real-time quiz distribution, answer collection, and automatic scoring to enhance interactive learning.

Requirements

STEM Science Lab components need a PC or Android tablet to connect to. One terminal for the teacher’s set and one terminal for each group of students using the student’s set. Using the optional CRS component, requires one Android mobile terminal per student to run the Virtual Clicker app.

Portable & Easy Setup

STEM Science Lab is completely portable and requires no fixed installation in a school laboratory. Both the Teacher’s Set and Student’s Set are compact, briefcase-sized kits containing everything needed to demonstrate, model, and conduct science experiments anywhere in the classroom.

No internet connection required.
Using the optional CRS component requires a Wireless Local Area Network (Wi-Fi).

Didactic Approach

STEM Science Lab could be incorporated in the didactic methodology of each class as a 2-step approach:

First hour (use of Teacher Set):

Identify knowledge gaps and misconceptions on the topic (2 min).
The teacher presents the theoretical concepts and conducts an experiment to illustrate them (30 min).
Discussion/Q&A’s (2-5 min).
Short assessment (2-3 min).
Conclusion and assignment of experiment modeling through a STEM activity in groups (3 min).
Assignment of roles within each group (2 min).

Second hour (use of Student Set):

The teacher reviews the theory and experimental findings (2-5 min).
Students in order to demonstrate their knowledge on the topic, form groups and
- either select an existing STEMLab activity and use the equipment to build and run it (2-5 min)
- or discuss an approach to modeling their own STEM activity with ARD:icon block programming (2-5 min)
Once an approach is agreed upon, each group leader presents their group’s activity to the class (1-2 min per group).
- Groups with similar ideas receive slightly different physical properties to work with for diversity (e.g., materials of different sizes, weights, densities, etc.).
Groups begin constructing their activity (10 min).
Each group presents their activity (1-2 min per group).
Other groups assess and provide feedback on the effectiveness of the presented activities (1-2 min).