Helped my son with his STEM/science project today.
My son’s experiment is to see what color light makes grass grow the best.
A week or so ago, I guided him to design something that would be relatively easy to build with structural components we had on hand, with a few things we could buy. I still have some leftover boxes from when I was shipping care packages to Rene when he was deployed in the middle east, so we used those to create some bays for little cups of grass to grow.
We went to a craft store, an office supply store, but couldn’t find any colored plastic sheets, so I ended up ordering them from Amazon. We went to a garden store to buy some soil and grass seed. I also ended up ordering some jello shot cups from Amazon as well - and even discovered they have relatively inexpensive grow lights I could use as well.
Today was assembly day - we had to work together to bend the plastic sheets just so. We got pretty lucky with the shipping box dimensions - for a lot of the build we just had to make really simple cuts and use the existing geometry and it all just worked. Pretty quickly decided to use a hot glue gun to fasten the plastic sheets to the U-shaped cardboard.
I wanted to make it easier for him to water the cups, so I added another piece of cardboard to the bottom of each bay. And then hot-glued the cups to that so he can slide it out as one unit. Then I realized the bays kept getting knocked around, so I decided to hot-glue them all to another base layer of cardboard, and to each other. I left a flap in back to clip the clip-on grow light to (I made sure to buy one that said it could clip to the measured depth of my chunky table top, but it just wouldn’t stay).
Then I thought it would be nice if he could pull a bunch of ‘trays’ out at once so made a little handle that attached three together. That’s why orange and blue look longer, that’s just the handle.
Yes, I did a lot of the cutting and a lot of the gluing, but he did a fair amount as well. Regardless I hope I get he gets a good grade.
He and my wife took care of filling the cups with soil and planting the seeds. I helped him out with watering them. I need to get something to make that a little easier, both of us spilled all over the place a bunch of times :)
So a year ago I had a project for STEM where we needed to work in a group (I was in a duo) and make our own cosmetics brand.
The first thing we needed to make was bath salt, but ours turned greenish black, so we mixed it together with red bath salt. Then we decided that our cosmetics brand would be spooky-themed.
We called it True Blood and I designed its mascot, namely Loriel the vampire (I just like the name Loriel). Then I gave her a friend, namely Lime the zombie. I also made a commercial with terrible animation and terrible Dutch acting (I can’t find the commercial anymore).
So anyway, we held a competition between all the groups and our group won. :)
I teach stem to little ones (which is just a second art class to them) and this is a list of every fun and successful idea I've done so far and I will be updating later.
When I began teaching I was given a few lessons to teach (which didn't seem very fun) and given no guideline what I should be doing afterword. At some point I ran out and me being me never reached out for help so I started looking online instead. This is for all my teachers out there and people who would want to dip in their toes in some beginner friendly crafts.
Keep in mind that I teach a large school and often I buy most of my materials with my own money. If you have a budget your school provides take it. I used to be acquaintances with a teacher who did fundraisers and bake sales which you CAN but no teacher shouldn't need to do that. Everything here usually can be bought through thrift stores, relatively cheap prices and in bulk if you look hard enough. Also recycle! Collect newspaper, tossed fabric, caps, cardboard boxes, paper rolls, anything and everything! Pinterest is your friend when looking for cool crafts and easy science experiments.
1. SLIME | 9/10 | GRADE 1 & Up Approved
Things really didn't start rolling until weeks later when I decided to try slime. I was about to go on a trip a few days after so only a handful of kids would get to try because I'd come back and lesson would be over and I'd never have to worry about it again. I came back and everyone was asking me about it and literally begging for the lesson to come back. Even other grades began to learn about it. Now i have a reward system for other classes to earn it because it's such a messy and costly project for an entire class to keep it as a lesson. Also encourages good behavior to try to earn that day when they see other classes get it before them which is a huge bonus.
(Put your hair up, roll up your sleeves, make sure to stay in your seat and remind them this is not lesson that needs hand washing after if you did it correctly, do not use tissue paper to wipe all slime off your hands, paper towel only)
RECIPE:
- Short plastic cups (if you give a tall one to kids, they'll break quickly and it's harder to mix with their tiny hands)
- 1 cup of glue (clear glue is a lot more pretty, i found a crap ton of glue on sale one time, 1 gallon can be used for about 2 1/2 classes if used wisely)
- 1 tsp of baking soda (Dollar general usually has lot of 4lbs)
- Contact solution (can be found at any drug store in the eye care, find a two pack for a better deal)
- Beads, charms, glitter, food coloring dye (all optional but makes everyone excited, cheap if you know where to look)
- Popsicle stick (to stir) & sandwich baggies (make sure it's not sticky and that its well done before its out the cup)
If it still looks like a liquid, add more contact solution and stir well. You can dip your finger (dont let the kids touch it until you deem it ready) and if it sticks to you at all them add more. When it becomes more firm and no longer sticks to YOUR finger then allow them.
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2. Pumpkin Carving | 8/10 | GRADE 3 & Up Approved
Very exciting but can be costly. I did this with only the bigger kids.
This is a 2 day project, day 1 we all came up with our own faces that we wanted craved and voted (do not give a marker/pencil, use a small piece of paper so they're not doing multiple votes). Day 2 we would use STEM bins (i'll explain what that is in a bit) and I'd carve as they play and call a table over to help scoop out the guts then go back.
Materials:
- One pumpkin per class
- Carving kit (Make sure it includes a marker)
- Big bucket
There's several online tutorials how to carve a pumpkin, just watch one of them. But my advice is make sure all the orange stuff and moisture is carved out so less risk of mold. Mine mold within a week so if you're doing any events you want carved pumpkins, do it within a week or less if you've done it correctly. I'm not an expert at any of this, this was my first attempts sooo no promises I'm doing this right. Have your local walmart, home depot, or lowes donate. I bought a few but the plan was for lowes to donate most of them but they responded a little late. Definitely try though.
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3. STEM Bins | 10/10 | All Grades Approved
This is one of the simplest lessons you can do. It's just about 4-5 bins full of different toys as stations and switching every 10 minutes. Why would include this? Well one kids just need to play and this is an excellent way getting them to work together, build relationships and test out their creativity.
What toys would I even put in "STEM Bins"?? My big hits are legos and magnet tiles. I put whatever else I found in my storage in there. There was a hardware set, building straws, brain flakes, 3D magnetic blocks w/ wheels, etc. There's so many neat stuff you can put in there and kids will find a way to be creative with them. And to be honest, them learning how to play outside of technology is such a great thing.
Highly recommend this. Just make sure they're not dumping and creating a big mess for clean up. Limit if there's lot of tiny little toys like legos. My thing is that they can't switch until everything is clean which helps them learn to limit mess and that there's consequences which I'm not gonna explain but you'll learn fast.
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And i really recommend encourage playing on the floor because you know they're gonna end up on the floor anyway and it helps them ignore other stations if they can't seem them with desks blocking.
4. 3D pumpkins | 8/10 | 2 & Up Approved
I tried 1st grade but they weren't getting it at all. You can definitely try though. I didn't do this for the older kids because we did pumpkin carving but they really wanted to try this too so I definitely recommend it. This is a follow along lesson. You will need to move around a lot make sure everyone is on the same page before continuing to the next step.
Have them fold it the paper (long or short way don't matter) in half about 3 times until it's skinny. Open it up and cut the invisible lines you just made. Glue the ends together until you make a big cross or X then glue the rest of the strips ends in the middle until you have all 8 pieces together. Grab 2 opposite ends and bring them together on top and glue together and then keep going. You don't gotta fold it like they did in the video just glue the ends and no need for a complicated stem. Just fold the tip of a short green paper and glue it.
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I used these pumpkins to decorate our hallways by poking a hole in the green stem and getting string and hanging them across. I basically sealed my fate as my work place's decorator when i did this and now I get asked to use my classroom to make something cool for events.
Materials:
- Construction paper (pumpkins aren't only orange)
- Scissors
- Glue sticks (TONS if youre in my situation)
5. Paper Chains | 10/10 | 2 & Up Approved
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This sounds incredibly boring and I thought it would be too but I was asked to decorate and thought this would a great way to do so. In the previous years before I started, I saw some classes try this and it seemed alright. The kids will be bored at first yes until they actually see the progress and they begin make really long chains. Some asked if they could work with others and I was like sure why not and then soon the whole class came together and I'm going holy shit they're getting along just for this. It's super easy to make.
Materials:
- Construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue sticks
6. Invisible Ink | 4/10 | Wouldn't do this again
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I tried but they just kept spilling. Make sure to use butcher paper or something to cover up your perfectly good tables. RIP to my tables this year, literal champs.
This one just exploded their minds. You can make easy at home invisible ink using baking soda and water as the ink & hand sanitizer and tumeric powder as the revealing solution. I use cotton swabs to write messages but dip too much in the ink and it'll ruin the cotton.
This experiment is super cool but it's just so unnecessarily messy and you have to think about resetting everything every class. I only get 5 minutes to reset my room and change/switch materials until its time for the next class which isn't a lot of time if that class is a hot mess. Great for a few small classes but if you're in my situation just don't bother with it. Also remind everyone included to keep away chemicals and anything isn't safe away from your face. Yes it's smells funny and sometimes gross, some are gonna do it anyway so teach the correct way to test a smell! Keep away from the face and wave its scent towards you.
7. Ornaments | 10/10 | All Grades Approved
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I only got to do this for one day because of some circumstances like to take my room away from me lol but whatever. Big Hit. Got asked if we were gonna make ornaments but had to move on from it. I was donated these blank wooden ornaments and decided sure we'll do that. We used thin paint markers to color them and I'd put string on them.
Materials:
- Blank wooden ornaments (I have NO idea where to find these again but i'll be on the look out for this)
- Crayons (younger kids)
- Marker (older kids)
8. Fake Snow | 8/10 | Grade 1 & Up Approved
Don't do this unless you're ready for baking soda all over your carpets. If you have rowdy kids, don't even try. Personally I still would do this despite the horrors because we live in a hotter climate so they don't get to experience snow every year so this cheers them up.
Make sure they at least TRY to keep it on the tables. Remind them hey its still indoors, DO NOT THROW IT, and they aren't required to participate if they don't want because some kids just don't like the mess and that's fine (make them draw instead), and yes it is washable if they get it on themselves.
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Materials:
- Small plastic cups
- 1 cup of baking soda
- 2-3 pumps of conditioner
- 1 popsicle stick (to stir)
- Glitter (optional but loved)
- Baggie with names (optional but i imagined caused a lot more ease for teachers in case any theft)
Piece of advice. . . same with the slime, don't let the kids touch it just let them mix then call you over to test to see if it's ready. How can you tell? One finger in and if the powder isn't left on your hands then it's ready. Remind them whatever isn't left on the floor is to take home and that encourages them to keep clean.
I have a sink in my room so what I suggest is making them clean up 15 min early to wash hands after putting the fake snow in the baggies.
9. Bracelets | 9/10 | Kinder & Up Approved
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No surprise this was another hit. If you're worried about prices then thrifting and reuse art supplies stores are budget friendly.
Materials:
- 6mm beads (use bigger if you want less clean up)
- String (use it for the older kids)
- Pipe cleaners (use for the younger ones)
- Charms (optional and may be pricey depending where you look but they're cool)
I suggest using plastic veggie trays and putting random beads in but be sure to limit the amount of they're not landing on the floor. If they run out they can always be given more but only if they run out. If the beads slip when they try to tie or put beads on string, put a piece of tape or tie an end down. Again do not give them any more than they need and do not leave the container of beads open <- guess who had a terrible spill after a kid ran, purposely hit my desk and spilled them my floor COVERED. Trust me. Keep it safe and away.
10. Paper lanterns | 9/10 | 2 Grade & Up Approved
This is another follow along lesson. This is relatively easy as long as they're listening. They're going to need help on really one part, don't do all the work for them or else they're not gonna learn. You can't do everything for them.
Grab a piece of paper and hold it in half (it's better if it's hot dog fold). Make sure you're holding up where the open part is on top. Fold the top slightly (not too skinny either) and now grab a pair of scissors where the bottom doesn't open and cut all the way till you reach the invisible line. Glue one side on the top and bottom and wrap it and press hard. Cut three 3 strips and paste 2 on the top and bottom and use 1 more as the handle. You can color with markers or crayons for more decorations. I hanged these around the entire place and it looks really good! I think this is a great craft but remember to be patient.
The video says to use a pencil to make that line but folding it so much easier. Gives you one less material to work with. The only problem I find is that it's annoying to reset this project back to back. I put everything they in a bucket but it always comes back to me full of used paper and missing caps. Annoying but cool project to take home.
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11. Catapults | 8/10 | Kinder & Up Approved
Ohhh boy did this give me a headache. I think it's one of the most classic STEM projects you can do. The only reason why I knocked off a few points is because no matter what grade you're teaching it too you'll always be tying half of these at least. Some dexterous will be able to get it but I was mostly doing it and I've gotten it down where i can spend a few seconds per table. Unless you're crazy like me and don't mind the rubber band rubbing against your fingers and breaking bits of your skin (i was tying really fast and not using stretchy enough bands) then probably not the craft for you.
ask your teacher.
Tell them to hang off from launching until the end of class then you can launch pom poms to the wall, just monitor them so they're not shooting each other and let them know if they lose their pom pom then thats that.
Materials:
- 7 popsicle sticks (jumbo if possible)
- 5-6 rubber bands
- 1 spoon
- Markers (optional if they wanna draw silly faces, helps spend more time)
I got asked if they could have them during recess. . . HA!HA HAhA!
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that's all i have for now but i plan to update near the end if any other crafts work well.
What helps a seed grow? We picked up a mini greenhouse kit to test this question. The kids chose 5 different household substances (beer included 🤣) to test. (Spoiler: plain old water works best!)
What I did for STEM week but was told not to turn it in because I did it wrong. Well for your information their version got me and them an 62% on the assignment
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