STEM at Wildwood

With opportunities to engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics beginning in kindergarten, Wildwood nurtures an eagerness to explore, collaborate, and problem-solve as students develop technical abilities and Life Skills.

There’s no better place to incubate curiosity than the Tec D.E.C. (Discover, Explore, Create), a maker studio designed specifically for elementary students. A flexible, multifunctional environment, the Tec D.E.C. can transform to enable video production, 3D design and printing, green screen effects, circuit board building, robotics, and tinkering. After each lesson, students leave with new skills and a deeper understanding of how technology can be used as a tool for developing their ideas.

In middle school, science and math collaborate with each other and other disciplines to provide problem-solving challenges that build upon and strengthen the skills developed at elementary, whether it’s using math to track the history of inflation or relying on physics formulas to engineer a seaworthy vessel. This cross-disciplinary approach is also reflected in Wildwood’s language program, where all middle school students take an introductory course in coding. Beyond the classroom, students are offered a glimpse into the work of the Wildwood Institute for STEM Research and Development (WISRD) with speciality programs through the year, such as Dark Matter Day, the WISRD Lecture and Poster Series, and InnovatED.LA, a day of discovery hosted by the Institutes at Wildwood showcasing the real-world engineering and design work of Wildwood students.

STEM in the upper school is distinguished by the Wildwood Institute for STEM Research and Development (WISRD), which serves as a center of study for students with a strong interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. WISRD’s mission is to provide a deep, probing, and intellectually stimulating STEM curriculum unique to Wildwood—student-centered, hands-on, and reflective of the real world work of scientists, engineers, and researchers.

WISRD students work together to research and design short- and long-term projects in the fields of astronomy and space, engineering, electronics computing and coding, and data science. The work extends beyond Wildwood’s walls as students focus their efforts on solving real-world challenges, with the guidance of an advisory board that includes notable scientists from MIT, UCLA, and Brown University, among others. Many students opt to participate in WISRD throughout their upper school experience, allowing them to delve deep into their research, synthesize their learnings, and contribute to scientific publications and journals.