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STEM education has grown at a rapid pace over the last ten years. It is now in almost every school and most homeschoolers are learning through STEM activities. It stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The skills learned through STEM education and activities are now needed for almost every occupation and colleges now expect students to enter their freshman year with these skills.
1. Paper Airplanes STEM Activity
Paper airplanes are one of the most basic origami STEM projects. This is one of the best STEM activities that lets students make a hypothesis and test it out. This is a great way to introduce a basic scientific method. Have them make predictions. Test. Then make a conclusion based on what happened when they tested out their airplanes.
The airplanes can be folded in a variety of ways. Each design has its pros and cons when flying. Let your children fold a variety of airplanes. Research new designs if you cannot come up with more than one. Then try them out. If you have more than one child, let them race one another.
While flying the airplanes, discover the following:
- Which design flies the furthest? Why?
- Which design flies the fastest? Why?
- What design appears to be the best overall?
These can be some great discussion questions to apply what they have built to real-world examples.
2. Slime as a STEM Activity
Slime is a messy STEM activity. At least that is what the kids think. It really is not that messy and it is easy to make homemade slime. There are several slime recipes online. I have provided a couple of easy ones here for your convenience. Materials needed will depend on the recipe you choose.
Recipe to Make Fluffy Slime:
- Put Cornstarcha and Shampoo in a bowl and stir well
- To add color, place 3-4 drops of food coloring (if desired)
- Add 1 tablespoon of water and stir. Add 5 additional tablespoons of water (one tablespoon at a time) stirring well after each tablespoon.
- Knead the slime for around 5 minutes.
- Store in an airtight container.
Slime Without Borax
- Put (4-ounce) bottle of washable school glue, such as Elmer’s into a bowl
- Add 1-2 drops. liquid food coloring (if desired)
- Add glitter (if desired)
- Mix the food coloring and glitter into the glue
- Add 1 teaspoon. baking soda and stir until it is smooth
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons. saline solution (contact lens solution) and stir slowly
- Continue to mix slowly until it start to harden and a ball forms
- Pick up the slime and use hands to mix. If it is too slimy, add another 1/2 tablespoon of saline solution.
- Store in airtight container
Borax Issue:
There are recipes that use borax to make slime. However, there is some concern that borax is not safe for children. I have chosen to provide a couple of easy recipes to make slime without the use of borax. Whether you want to use a recipe with borax and feel that makes a better slime, is up to you.
3. Cloud in a Jar STEM Activity
This was an activity we did at a local library during the school vacation activity days. It was easy to do and the kids enjoyed it. The thought of clouds in a jar had their attention from the beginning. They could not wait to see the reaction.
Materials Needed:
- Jar such as a Mason Jar
- Hot water
- Ice Cubes
- Hairspray (other option needs matches)
Making the Cloud in a Jar
- Pour hot water into the jar. The water should be hot , but not boiling.
- Swirl the water to warm the jar.
- Place the lid upside down on top of the jar. Fill the lid with ice cubes.
- Remove the lid and quickly spray a bit of hairspray (or use smoke from a match).
- Watch as the cloud forms inside the jar
Demonstration of Cloud in a Jar STEM Activity
4. Blow Up a Balloon Activity
This is a basic STEM activity that only requires a few ingredients but demonstrates a lot of scientific information. STEM activities come in a variety of forms. Each teaches more concepts and allows for hands-on learning.
Materials Needed:
- Balloon
- Funnel
- Baking Soda
- Vinegar
- Plastic Bottle
Steps to Blow Up a Balloon
- Use a funnel to put 3 tablespoons of Baking Soda into the balloon
- Use funnel to put 3 tablespoons of Vinegar into a plastic bottle
- Carefully place the balloon over the edge of the plastic bottle
- Lift up the balloon to combine the Baking Soda with the Vinegar
- Watch as the balloon starts to blow up
Demonstration of Blowing Up Balloon:
5. Floating Egg Activity
This is an awe-type of activity for younger children. Use some basic scientific questions to engage the children. Children learn more through STEM activities when they are fully engaged.
Materials Needed:
- Egg
- Two Drinking Glass (Same Size)
- Salt
- Water
Questions to Ask Children During STEM Activities
- What do you think will happen to the egg when it is placed in the water?
- Did what you predict happen?
- What do you think will happen to the egg when placed into the water with salt?
- Did what you predict happen? Why?
- What was the difference between the two eggs in the water?
Instrustions for Activity
- Fill a tall drinking glass about 3/4 full of water.
- Place the egg into the glass.
- Watch egg sink.
- Fill another tall drinking glass about 3/4 full of water.
- Add 3 Tablespoons of Salt and stir until combined.
- Place the egg into the glass.
- Watch the egg float.
The egg in the water with salt will float when the egg in just water will sink. The egg in the saltwater floats because the density of the water is higher than the density of the egg. Density is how heavy something is when compared to its volume.
6. Plastic Bottle Rocket Activity
This is a simple and quick STEM activity. It does not take long to complete this activity but it is still a lot of fun. Reminder, watch out for the bottle when you turn it upside down.
Materials Needed:
- Plastic Bottle
- Tape
- Pencils
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Wine Cork
Making a Plastic Bottle Rocket
- Tape pencils to the plastic bottle so that the flat end will touch the ground when the bottle is upside down.
- Pour vinegar into the plastic bottle.
- Add a small amount of baking soda and quickly push in the wine cork
- Flip the bottle rocket upside down
- Step back and watch.
Demonstration of Rocket STEM Activity
7. Alka-Seltzer Lava Lamp Activity
Most students are aware of lava lamps. This is a STEM activity that allows students to make a homemade lava lamp. We did this activity a few times. It was a lot of fun watching the intensity levels and seeing the length of the reaction. It really looks like a lava lamp when the reaction happens inside the bottle. After the tablet dissolves and the reaction stops, let them repeat the process. Does it change from the first attempt in the length of time or its intensity? Let science happen.
Materials Needed:
- Bottle with Cover
- Water
- Food Coloring (Any Color Desired)
- Vegetable Oil
- Alka-Seltzer Tablets
Making Alka-Seltzer Lava Lamp
- Fill bottle with 1-2 inches (or 1/3) of water
- Add 5 drops of food coloring (any color)
- Fill the bottle with at least three-quarters full with vegetable oil
- Put the cap on tightly to avoid spills and leaks
- Take an Alka-Seltzer tablet and cut it into four pieces (if you have a small one, use the full tablet)
- Put two pieces of the Alka-Seltzer tablet into the bottle
- Once the tablet reaches the water, start timing
- Watch the reaction
Compare Hot and Cold Jars
You can make this into bigger STEM activities. Now, you can compare how long it takes for the tablet to dissolve and for the reaction to stop between the hot and cold jars. You would do the exact same activity but one jar would be hot and the other cold. Which one had the biggest reaction? Which one took longer for the tablet to dissolve? These are just a few basic questions to discuss after the activity.
Activity Cleanup
This activity requires a special clean-up when you are no longer playing with the lamp. Do NOT dump this solution down the sink. It will lead to clogs. Pour it into a compost pile. If this is not an option, make sure the cover is on tight and throw it out with your regular trash.
8. Egg Drop STEM Activity
This is one of the STEM activities that every child should do at least once. It can be done as an individual or as a small group The goal is to design something that will protect the egg and keep it from breaking when dropped at a height. Materials used can be recycled materials, and almost anything is allowed. There is only one objective: KEEP THE EGG FROM BREAKING!
Instructions
- Allow a few days for students to collect the materials they will need to build a contraption to protect the raw egg from the fall
- Have students (either as individual or small groups) design the contraption on paper before building.
- Have the students build their contraptions and note any changes they decide to make once they start to build.
- Decide on the height that the eggs are to be dropped from and make sure all eggs are dropped from the same height.
- Make predictions about whether or not they think each contraption will or will not protect the egg from breaking.
- Place a garbage bag or some type of plastic, etc to catch all the broken egg pieces to make cleanup easier.
- Now, the fun part: Drop the Eggs
- Record the resutls. Each student can record on their own whether or not the contraption protected the egg with a brief description of the contraption
- Let students decide what they would do if they had a chance to drop an egg again
- If you have time, go ahead and try the activity over again and compare the results.
9. Drinking Straw Roller Coaster Activity
This is so much fun and requires very few materials. It tasks cardboard, straws, tape, glue, and ping pong balls. All the materials can be found at a local Dollar Tree or another similar retailer
Instructions:
- This can be done individually or in small groups.
- Make sure the kids know the track needs to be two straws and at the width to hold the ping pong ball.
- Use the cardboard for the base.
- Let students build the track. Remind them to test each small section to make sure the width is correct, etc before taping or gluing in place.
- Once the Roller Coasters are built, let the fun begin. Take turns letting the students drop the ping pong ball at the top of the roller coaster and see if it makes it to the bottom.
- A small container placed on the bottom can help to catch the ping pong ball but is not a requirement for completing the activity. You just have to chase the ping pong balls.
10. Paper Clip Maze STEM Activity
This project is best done individually. We did this one at our local library on one of their STEM activity days. The kids had a great time. A word of caution, they do spend a lot of time coloring their popsicle sticks. Plan extra time for coloring. Again, all the materials can be bought at your local Dollar Tree Store or another similar retailer.
Materials Needed:
- Popscile Sticks (You can purcase packages of popsicles sticks at the Dollar Tree Store).
- Poster Paper (Large Thin Poster Paper is the one Needed) and can be purchased at the Dollar Tree Store.
- Glue
- Markers
- Paper Clips
- Magnet
Instructions:
- Make sure each kid has a poster paper, a bunch of popsicle sticks, glue, a paper clip and markers available.
- Remind the kids to map out their maze with the popsicle sticks before gluing them to the paper.
- Keep the popsicle sticks wide enough for the paperclip to go through the maze.
- The popsicle sticks can be broken if needed for the maze.
- When the student know how he wants the maze to look, let him go ahead and glue them to the paper.
- Allow student to color the popsicle sticks as they wish.
- One at a time, have the student use the magnet and try to make the paperclip go through the maze. (The best way to do this is the have two other people (kids or adults- if needed) hold the ends of the poster paper.
- Once the student gets the paperclip to go through the maze, allow the next student to complete the maze.
- For some extra fun, let students pick other mazes they would like to try to make the paperclip go through.
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