Editor’s Note: This information was provided by the Whitewater Unified School District.

Lincoln Elementary fifth grade students participated in the 2021 Global K-12 Gingerbread STEM Community Challenge. The objective of this project was to learn about, design, and build our community out of traditional gingerbread house supplies. Prior to constructing our community, students learned more about what is important to Whitewater. This year, students chose to represent small business as a way to honor them as they’ve navigated the pandemic. Students used the design process and skills relating to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics). 

During the project students had an opportunity to communicate with local businesses to learn a little bit more about what inspired them to be a small business owner. As a finale to the project, students participated in Zoom meetings with students in New Hampshire, Texas, and Kansas. The schools compared our communities and what makes our town special. Our students were shocked when we were talking with a city with more than 1,000,000 people! It was so fun for students to share our community with other parts of the country and compare our similarities and differences. We also had parents, community members, and local business owners in to check out the student work!