Think Together Students Explore Science in Action at Main Event

For Think Summer 2025, students from Azusa Unified School District got a one-of-a-kind STEM experience during a field trip to the Main Event STEM Academy. 

As part of their visit, students rotated through two interactive labs that made science and math come to life through culinary aspects and game engineering. 

In the Game Lab, students became scientists of the arcade. They were immersed in hands-on lessons that explored the world of physics, probability, and experimental design. Think Together students investigated how Newton’s First Law and friction influenced air hockey, applied probability theories to arcade basketball, and identified independent and dependent variables while playing Skee-Ball. 

After playing his favorite game, Skee-Ball, fifth grade student Cesar was left fascinated by the mechanics of the game. He shared that he didn’t realize that the games he loved to play used science.  

By connecting these scientific concepts to real-world experiences, students gained a deeper understanding of the forces, patterns, and logic that shape how the games work. 

After diving into the inner workings of arcade science, students stepped into the Pizza Lab, where math met mozzarella! In this engaging activity, students took a crash course in geometry and fractions to calculate the circumference, radius and diameter to create their pizzas. Through this culinary math lesson, students discovered that the kitchen can be a classroom too. 

“I liked how we got to play and learn at the same time,” shared fourth grader Frank. “I didn’t know there was so much math and science in pizza and games!” 

By making STEM concepts tangible and relevant, it can spark curiosity, build confidence, and help prevent summer learning loss. Feld trips like this remind us that sometimes the best way to learn is through play.   

“Activities such as these are important for students because they not only allow them to be creative and explore different learning opportunities, but they also practice social-emotional learning by being with their friends,” shared Think Together Site Program Manager, Carmen Ramos. 

As Think Together continues to bring high-quality, hands-on learning opportunities to students across California, it remains committed to providing year-round expanded learning that supports both academic growth and student engagement, both inside and outside the classroom.