Tonkawa, OK – On Friday, December 6, Ms. Nicole Jones, a dedicated Pre-K teacher at Tonkawa Elementary, attended a professional development session titled Storybook Engineering, hosted by the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance. The event, aimed at enhancing educators' skills in integrating engineering concepts with storytelling, provided Ms. Jones with valuable insights and ideas for her classroom.Inspired by the event, Ms. Jones immediately incorporated one of the lessons into her class. After reading The Gingerbread Man by Eric Kimmel, Ms. Jones presented her students with a creative design challenge: to build a boat capable of safely carrying the Gingerbread Man across the river, away from the hungry fox chasing him.Working in teams, the young students designed, built, and tested their boats using a variety of materials. The hands-on activity allowed them to explore basic engineering concepts such as buoyancy, stability, and design thinking, all while engaging with the beloved story.With the success of this activity, Ms. Jones looks forward to introducing more interactive lessons that inspire her students to think critically, problem-solve, and collaborate—skills that will serve them well in their future academic endeavors.The Storybook Engineering event is part of the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance's ongoing efforts to make STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education accessible to everyone. In addition to hosting community events and professional development opportunities like Storybook Engineering, the organization offers the STEM Shoppe—a FREE lending library of STEM-related classroom resources available to educators.For more information on upcoming events or to learn more about the STEM Shoppe, visit the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance’s website at https://tulsastem.org/.
