Mars Area Centennial School received a Donors Choose Grant to benefit a stop-motion animation project in the school’s fifth grade STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics) classes.

The funding was used to purchase Stikbot figures, which can be posed and moved to create stop-motion animation videos, says Chris Churilla, STEAM teacher and Library/Media Specialist, who applied for the grant. Fifth-graders are using the Stikbots, along with their STEAM skills, to bring more movement to their animations.

As part of the project, fifth-graders are creating simple background designs using markers on whiteboards. The students then position the Stikbots in front of or on the backdrop and take pictures of each step using the Stop Motion Studio app on their iPads.

At the end of the class, the students have an opportunity to present their animations to their classmates. For more information, call (724) 625-2601.

The following is an example of the students' work: