CONWAY — With LEGOs, tablets and a little bit of teamwork, Conway Grammar School students took to coding robots and their classmates earlier this week.

Tying all these coding activities together was the school’s STEAM Day, which brought science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics all under one umbrella.

“It’s really about creative design and creative problem solving and integrating all those areas,” said Kate Arsenault, one of the event’s organizers and the school’s library/media specialist. “I think this really helps kids understand the creativity behind it.”

Coding was the topic of the day, she said, due to the continuing rise of artificial intelligence and the continued emphasis on technology in society.

“Everyone can code,” Arsenault said.

STEAM Day joins other Conway Grammar School events like Read Across America Day, where students and staff get the opportunity to step outside their normal classroom routines and engage in some fun, educational activities where they can develop several skills at once.

While coding is done on the computer, kids got the chance to do some offline “coding” by building with LEGOs.

Each student was handed a bag of blocks and asked to build anything they wanted. Once finished, they “coded” their partner by giving detailed instructions on what blocks they used and the orientation in which they were placed without actually showing their counterpart the structure they built. By coming up with clear, concise instructions, students learned how to work with a partner and improved their communication skills.

Other activities included working with LEGO robotics, which gave students a chance to build devices that shot at a target or bowled a ball down a ramp. Working in conjunction with a tablet program, kids were able to choose the design of their machine and then work on the screen to program and activate it.

“It’s about learning how to code,” said fourth grader Cade Anderson, as he and his team knocked over several bowling pins while using a ramp they built. “I think it’s really fun.”

Fellow fourth grader Andrew Goodridge said the robotics activity was his favorite because he and his group had the freedom to build whatever they wanted. He added that he finds himself coding outside of school when he’s adding things to games.

“It’s something that I enjoy doing,” he said.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.