Published in Science & Children

In Start With a Story GFP student and former student programs coordinator at Lincoln Park Zoo Sarah Dunifon, a school librarian, teachers and elementary students from five Chicago schools collaborated to use technology and a story to bridge STEM into STEAM (STEM + Art = STEAM. The project used the One Book, One Community format to get students to read and discuss The One and Only Ivan, a book written by Katherine Applegate about the true story of silverback gorilla Ivan who was isolated in captivity for 27 years in a shopping mall arcade. Through a cross-curricular collaboration, students were immersed in activities that allowed them to experience and express the natural world around them and to realize the power of friendship and hope.