STEM

LCDS STEM Program

Our students are scientists, programmers, and engineers.

The STEM program at LCDS is an immersive lab experience, with classes that build on each other to provide a strong foundation of skills. From designing robots to building underwater vehicles, students are engaged in hands-on learning that begins in prekindergarten. Coursework is designed to cultivate responsible digital citizenship, foster creative problem solving and facilitate an environment where students see themselves as innovators.

The STEM curriculum is composed of five tracks: Operations and Concepts; Digital Citizenship; Research and Information Fluency; Creation and Innovation; Communication and Collaboration. Within these tracks, students explore media fluency, researching skills, programming, robotics, the engineering design process, print and multimedia presentations, video production, basic electronics, 3D design and printing, and more.

LCDS graduates will have completed more STEM education than the majority of students graduating from public or private high schools in Loudoun County.

Discovering the joy of nature! Learn about how our Garden Lab supports our STEM program.

Garden Lab

Ingenuity in Action!

Ready, Set, Bee-Bots!

Kindergarten students participate in a coding robotics unit using
Bee-Bots. The children are engaged while using the programmable
robots to move across a grid, learning sequencing, estimation, counting and problem solving.
Lending a Helping Hand

7th Grade students 3D print prosthetic hands which they donate to kids in need through the E-Nable Organization. Students learn about 3D printing, biomedical engineering, and biomechanics. The unit also focuses on developing an understanding of disability and on the importance of supporting people with disabilities.
Supporting Pollinators

In 4th grade, children visit an apiary and interact with the honeybees. They learn how much the honeybees contribute to food supply, how the vanishing affects the food chain, and possible reasons for their decline as well as solutions to help save them. It makes the children realize how such a small creature has such a huge impact on their lives and the Earth.
Robotics

LCDS students experiment with BeeBots, Ozobots, Lego Robotics, Seaperch Robots, and VEX Robotics. Students learn to build and program robots and study how robots work. Middle School robot enthusiasts also have the opportunity to join the after school VEX Robotics Team.
Coding

LCDS graduates have experience with block coding, JavaScript, and Python coding languages. They practice coding using interactive software and learn about the nature of coding and how it works. Students write code to create a computer game, to program a robot, and to control an Arduino electrical device.
Inno-ventions

LCDS students are true innovators! From designing their own powerful wind turbines to customizing remote controlled submarines, our students learn how to creatively problem solve. In 8th grade, students are challenged to use everything they have learned in STEM to design an invention that solves a real world problem. Our students’ inventions are as diverse and creative as they are!