Holly Jolly STEM Saturday 2025

On Saturday, Dec. 6, the Corinth School District hosted the “Holly Jolly” STEM Saturday camp, where over 120 registered students brought science, technology, engineering, and math to life. The vibrant, hands-on activities were specifically designed to spark imagination and curiosity in students from Pre-K through 6th grade.

Pre-K students designed their own colorful Christmas hats and painted festive ornaments. Kindergartners learned about the properties of a non-Newtonian fluid through making a peppermint oobleck. Otherwise known as gloop, an oobleck is both a solid and a liquid, making it a lot of fun to play with! They also worked on their bilateral coordination and problem solving abilities by constructing their own candy cane ornaments. 

First graders honed their geometry skills by paper crafting a gingerbread house. They also designed magical snowmen and colorful lollipop ornaments. “As a first-grade teacher, I love activities that allow students to explore and create through play-based learning—and this is exactly what STEM Saturday is!” said Rheagan Coffman, first grade teacher at Corinth Elementary School. “I enjoyed watching the students rotate through several fun stations. These included a range of putting their engineering skills to use while robot-coding and building Christmas trees using green and red cups, to fostering creativity by making gingerbread houses and designing snow globes. I am grateful to work at a place where everyone comes together to make special memories for the kids. STEM Saturday truly brings out our students’ creativity—all while promoting a deep-rooted love for learning.” 

Second graders were in awe of the Growing the Grinch’s heart experiment making a chemical reaction using vinegar and baking soda. They also made Christmas moon dough, showing how emulsifiers work and created melting cup ornaments.

Third graders learned valuable teamwork as they engineered a collaborative Christmas tree cup challenge together as a group. They also created pipe clean ornaments and painted Christmas scenes. 

Fourth graders learned about the transformation of matter by making Shrinky Dink ornaments using a plastic bottle and a toaster oven. They also explored electrostatic charges while creating their static ornaments. Fifth and sixth graders designed their own Christmas ornament using Christmas-themed materials such as pipe cleaners and wire. 

Pre-K through 2nd grade students also participated in a holiday-themed Makerspace activity. They resourcefully built a Christmas stocking using a variety of materials. Third through 6th graders embraced their creativity by creating their own snow globe, complete with festive snow, Christmas trees and snowmen. “Student engagement is my favorite part of STEM Saturday,” said Tyrhonda Shinault, 7th-8th grade English teacher at Corinth Middle School. “The students were interested in the snow globe activity and even made a logical suggestion about how the activity could be better. It is always a joy to hear them describe how they would do something.” 

All students built and decorated their own gingerbread house using graham crackers, icing and candy decorations. This annual treat is a collaboration with the high school Culinary Arts students. “I love to do STEM Saturdays for the little kids,” said Azyia Shields, senior at Corinth High School. “I love their smiles and conversations. I’ve done this STEM Saturday for the last four years and I love it every time. I will be back to do it again.” 

Students also participated in a high-tech Robotics and Engineering center. Students skillfully maneuvered Dash and Dot robots using iPads and specialized apps that allow the robot to be controlled through block or text-based programming.

Join us for our next STEM Saturday on Feb. 7 with a theme of The Science of You. Register at www.corinth.k12.ms.us.