Animals, Weather, Medical, and Under the Sea (online activities)

Real life situations connected to STEM: Aquifers Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) topics are receiving increasing emphasis in the curriculum. The Web offers plenty of fun activities to engage students in STEM, and sites such as iExploreSTEM offer resources, activities, printables, conferences and workshop information for educators. The following activities offered by iExploreSTEM covers all four STEM subjects. Science Exploring Aquifers: Students get a clear plastic bottle and can create their own simulated aquifer with dirt, sand, rocks, leaves, twigs or mulch. Technology Binary Coding Sounds: With this Web site, students can access a number of songs with high and low pitches symbolizing binary code. Engineering Bridge Construction: In pairs, students will work toward creating a paper bridge between two paper cups and balancing a third cup on the bridge. Mathematics Best Buy: Real-life examples help students understand discount shopping. Show-Biz Science

STEM :: STEM Sample Activities Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6) Sample Activities Activity 1 – Rube Goldberg invention A Rube Goldberg invention is a device or set up that is deliberately over-engineered to perform a simple task in a complicated way. Students use materials provided to design and make a machine that performs a simple task and fits a certain criteria, eg there must be at least three transfers of energy. Activity 2 – Game plan Students design and make a game that uses electricity as an essential requirement of the structure of the game. Activity 3 – Up, up and away Students explore flight by testing and varying the design of paper airplanes. Activity 4 – Light up Students use their knowledge of electricity and light to design and make a lampshade. Activity 5 – Vroom, vroom Students explore efficiency by building air-powered, model vehicles. Activity 6 – Waterwheel Students design and construct a functioning waterwheel. Activity 7 – Keeping food cool

Indiual SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH (ACTIVITIES & EXPERIMENTS) With a name like The STEM Laboratory, it’s no surprise that we’re obsessed about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities for kids. These 50+ STEM projects are sure to keep little scientists engaged, learning and well-prepared for their STEM-filled future. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Science Projects There are countless science experiments for kids but these 14 projects are our hands-down favorites! Make a mini model of the water cycle with just a Ziploc bag! Turn your name into crystals! Find out why the sky is blue. // Rookie Parenting Test whether objects are magnetic. // The Measured Mom Whip up some frothy, foamy toothpaste. Pour ice that is warm to the touch but freezes. Make one orange sink and another one float! Pour a rainbow into a jar. Capture fireworks in a jar using just a few common household supplies. // I Can Teach My Child Go fishing for ice. Learn about color mixing when you make water walk! Catch a cloud in a jar. Technology Activities Malia

How to set up a makerspace at your school - ABC Splash - ABC Splash - A makerspace can be any place where students can get creative, whether a classroom, library or garden. It's not about the space, but the innovation mindset that the space promotes. In this article, we unpack everything you need to create your own collaborative makerspace at school. Learning needs to be at the core of any decision when creating your makerspace. But you don’t need lots of high-tech equipment. Makerspaces provide students with access to tools, resources and humans to help drive innovation and entrepreneurship. In this series of videos, Joachim Cohen, Schools Technology Innovation Lead, and Greig Tardiani, Technology for Learning Project Manager, both from the NSW Department of Education, explain how you can start a makerspace at your own schools. 1. Getting students together and collaborating in groups is a great part of makerspaces, so it’s important that your space is flexible. 2. Think about the needs of your students and go from there. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Elementary STEAM Activity: How to grow crystals? Activity for ages 3 and up. This easy-peasy, low cost science experiment uses borax to grow crystal names. Whether your child is 3 or 103, they’re sure to get excited about seeing their name shimmer and sparkle in the sunlight. Crystal names are one of our favorite kids’ science experiments yet. P.S. Even though my 5 year old can easily write her name, she never tires of seeing it, especially when it sparkles and glistens. Getting Ready To prep for this science activity, I gathered a few supplies: Pipe cleanersFishing line {twine or yarn will work too}Pencils or wooden skewersScissorsGlasses or plastic container {one for each color}A container large enough to hold your name {if doing your name as a single piece written in cursive}BoraxFood Coloring {optional, if you want colored letters you can dye the borax solution or use colored pipe cleaners}Liquid measuring cupTablespoonHeat Safe Mixing Bowl Shaping the Names Making the Solution Waiting for the Crystals The Science Behind It Noirin Lynch

Makerspace (STEM / STEAM) Projects For Kids Makerspace or STEM projects for kids don’t have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, some of the best projects use recycled or repurposed items like cardboard or soda bottles which means nothing to buy. Below, we’ve compiled some of our favorite projects that are great for makerspaces. Learn how to make a boat out of a soda bottle, create a car from cardboard and many more. Get the FREE Makerspace Info Bundle Build a simple circuit using a pizza box (no soldering required) Create circuit tiles which are interchangeable blocks used to form different circuits. Using a simple hobby motor and cardboard, you can make a frog robot that is very entertaining. Learn how to make this simple foam boat with dc motor and homemade propeller. These battery powered cars are super fun and can be made with a few basic parts. Paper circuits are a really great way to learn the basics of circuits and electricity. Make a flying airplane using cardboard, a coke bottle and a DC hobby motor.

Indivual + Inclusive STEM Projects: Focus on MATH and ENGINEERING If you’re a teacher or homeschool parent looking for ideas for STEM project-based learning activities, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve compiled a list of terrific STEM project-based learning activities that can be tailored to meet your students’ needs. Our list breaks down the learning activities by subject: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Many of these activities are customizable so they can be catered to toddlers all the way up to high school aged students. If you’re looking for some quick 5-minute project ideas to keep the kids busy while you’re on the phone or taking care of house chores, check out this Bored Jar idea from Left Brain Craft Brain. STEM Project-Based Learning Activities You’ll Love Science Activities for Project Based Learning Sensory Weather Bottles for Toddlers – Great for toddlers and pre-K kids, you can use this weather activity from Twodaloo to teach them all about clouds, snow, rain, wind, and the sun. STEM Technology Activities

Using picture books to teach computational thinking Popular culture may lead you to believe we need to teach all students to code. Actually... we need to teach all students how to use computational thinking. Coding is just one application of computational thinking. Other applications include robotics and digital technologies. There are four components of computational thinking (BBC website) decomposition - breaking down a complex problem or system into smaller, more manageable partspattern recognition – looking for similarities among and within problemsabstraction – focusing on the important information only, ignoring irrelevant detailalgorithms - developing a step-by-step solution to the problem, or the rules to follow to solve the problem Based on the definition above you do not always need technology to teach computational thinking. Journeys Stories with a journey can be used to create physical maps and interpret the story into a physical illustration of the story. ExamplesSail away: The Ballad of Skip and Nell by Mem Fox Repeating phrases

How to create a GREAT STEM project My first STEM project came out of desperation -- before I’d ever heard the acronym STEM. I had accepted an eighth-grade science position at a newly constructed school in Mobile, Alabama. That’s where I met “The Class.” You know the class I mean -- the one where kids who seldom experience success come in thinking, “I don’t like science. I don’t like school. None of this stuff relates to me.” I tossed convention aside and decided to try a completely different approach with this class. I wondered what would happen if my disinterested class tackled this real-life problem. The student’s project interested the community. While constructing a concrete weir to hold back water and allow sediment to settle out, students made some miscalculations and mistakes. I like to look back at this project through a STEM lens. Problem solving drives all STEM investigations. When I work with STEM projects, I deliberately include those same features. Like this article?

PBS Teacher Resources for STEM Welcome to PBS Teachers STEM Education Resource Center! Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Resources for Grades PreK-12 PBS offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning through television and online content. On-line broadband access and digital media are dramatically changing the opportunities available to the nation’s educators improving STEM education. Explore some of our great STEM offerings for grades PreK-12. NOVA Science Now: The Secret Life of Scientists, "Becoming the Professor". Through many of our award-winning STEM-related television programs – NOVA, NATURE, CYBERCHASE, CURIOUS GEORGE, and SID THE SCIENCE KID – PBS continues to play its historic role as both a standard-bearer and innovator in digital content and professional development guided by research and actively supporting classroom teachers, home educators and childcare providers. STEM Education News