STEAM at St. Viator

Every student leaves astronaut certified.

At St. Viator, science isn't something students read about. It's something they build, test, launch, and fix. From Kindergarten through 8th grade, every student has STEAM class in our dedicated STEM lab with a full-time STEAM teacher, learning to ask big questions and figure out the answers with their own hands. St. Viator has had a dedicated STEM teacher since 2019, and our commitment to the arts goes back even further.

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Inside the STEAM Lab

Here's a glimpse of what students have been up to this fall:

• Kindergarteners tested soft and hard pushes with ball ramps and paper airplanes.

• First graders became sound scientists. They held a ringing tuning fork over water to watch the vibrations ripple the surface, then sprinkled salt on a drum and watched it jump with every beat. When you can see a vibration with your own eyes, the idea sticks.

• Second graders became materials detectives, predicting whether each object would sink or float before testing it, then finished with a live demonstration of solids alongside their classroom teacher, real handsaw included.

• Third graders ran a virtual tug of war to see balanced and unbalanced forces in action.

• Fourth graders used an energy simulator to prove that faster really does mean more energy.

• Sixth graders launched a full lab on how mass changes motion.

• Eighth graders tested what light and sound do when they hit different materials.

 

Where Surprise Is the Point

In Mr. Garrison's class, students predict first, then test. Sometimes the metal screw sinks just like they expected. Sometimes an object does something nobody saw coming. Those surprises are the best part of science, and they teach students to trust evidence, question their assumptions, and keep asking why.

 

Meet Mr. Garrison

Nathan Garrison is a U.S. Air Force veteran, a father of five, and the creator of St. Viator's STEAM curriculum. He holds an MBA in IT Management and a Master's in STEM Education from Grand Canyon University. During five tours in Iraq as a Security Forces instructor, he taught students how technology works, all the way down to circuits and semiconductor chips. That's where his love of STEAM took off, along with a lifelong fascination with flight, the Moon, and the idea of people one day living on Mars.

He has taught at St. Viator since 2021 and also leads the STEM for Peace program he created at the Kelly Hall YMCA through After School Matters. He brings the same curiosity into every class he teaches.

 

What Students Learn

Every grade follows the Illinois Science Standards, and every grade learns digital citizenship: how to be safe, kind, and responsible with technology.

Kindergarten to 2nd Grade: Thinking Like Scientists
Our youngest learners make observations, ask questions, and run their first experiments. They explore pushes and pulls, make sound with vibrations, discover what magnets can do, and test which materials sink and which float.

3rd to 5th Grade: How Things Work
Students investigate forces, patterns of motion, and the science of flight. They build electrical circuits, explore how energy travels, zoom in on the tiny particles that make up everything around us, and get their first introduction to robotics.

6th to 8th Grade: Real Labs, Real Engineering
Middle schoolers run full lab investigations into force, mass, and motion. They study cells, the Earth, sun, and moon, light and sound, energy transfer, and chemistry, then put it all to work building circuits, launching rockets, and programming robots.

 

The "A" in STEAM: Art Zone

St. Viator put the "A" in STEAM long before it was a trend. In 1997, a group of parents founded Art Zone, a monthly hands-on art experience that continues today. Each month, every student from Preschool through 8th grade creates a project inspired by a featured artist or technique, using tools and media they might never encounter outside of school. Art Zone is still led by parent volunteers, and it remains one of our community's most beloved traditions.

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Science Doesn't Stop at the Classroom Door

Every week, Mr. Garrison sends families an update on what each grade explored and what's coming next, along with free interactive simulations kids can try at home. Dinner table conversations about energy, forces, and sound waves are a regular part of life for St. Viator families.

 

Coming in 2027-28: Project Lead The Way

Next fall, St. Viator will launch Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Gateway for grades 6 to 8, a nationally recognized engineering and computer science program used by schools across the country. Middle school students will take STEAM twice a week all year, beginning with Design and Modeling and Automation and Robotics, and adding new units over time so students experience the full program by 8th grade.

St. Viator is one of the only schools in the area to offer PLTW. Our students will head to high school having already worked like real engineers.

 

See It for Yourself

The best way to understand STEAM at St. Viator is to visit the lab. Schedule a tour by calling 773-545-2173 or clicking below.