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A site filled with more activities, projects, lesson plans, and resources than you have time for in a year! All grades available!

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Anytime can be the right time to explore STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Explore our favorite experiments, engineering challenges and demonstrations with these fun hands-on STEM activities! Materials are easy to find, most activities take an hour or less, and the STEM learning is limitless.

Try the annual Engineering Challenge from Science Buddies! Open to all students worldwide, a new challenge and prizes are announced every January. Explore the current challenge as well as ones from past years! Read more

Did you know that the seaweed you've seen in the ocean or even eaten as a snack is inspiring innovators to imagine new materials? Large brown algae, like kelp, contains polymers-long chains of molecules-that are more environmentally friendly than the ones in most plastics. These natural polymers (alginates) could eventually be used to create sustainable everyday objects. Try your hand at using a bit of chemistry to turn biodegradable polymers from algae into your own custom... Read more

Explore Our Science Videos

Make A Candy DNA Model!

Light-Tracking Robot: BlueBot Project #2

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Fun hands-on STEM activities (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities for kids of all ages.

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10 Easy STEM Career Classroom Activities

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10 Easy STEM Career Classroom Activities

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Let's talk careers. STEM careers are the fastest growing of any other field out there. Did you know there are more openings for STEM jobs than we have qualified workers to fill them? Plus 93% of STEM jobs earn wages that are nearly double the national average ( source). Do your students know about these opportunities? The high wages and abundant opportunities are exactly why the STEM education movement exists!

Do you talk about STEM careers in your classroom? This is definitely an overlooked topic as careers aren't on a standardized test. But the real world is beyond the test. We need to prepare our students for the demands and required skills of the 21st century workplace.

How do I start? Many educators have limited knowledge of STEM careers or real-world topics. They feel intimidated or overwhelmed. Or maybe they know about certain careers, but they are looking to expand their knowledge of the diverse field.

We can help! Read on for strategies to bring STEM careers to life in your classroom! Through activities that connect STEM to student interests, we will show you how to engage kids with the exciting possibilities of real-world STEM.

You can go on and on about engineering, but how do you get students to actually listen? They will only take notice if you find a way to connect STEM to their personal interests. By taking a students' passion and connecting it to a STEM career, it can help redefine what that career means to them.

The best approach we found was through the use of sparks. A spark is what a student is passionate about, what lights them up and gives them well......that "spark". Sparks were developed by the Search Institute, who explains them as follows:

"Sparks are the activities and interests that truly engage kids to be their best. Research shows that kids who know and develop their sparks-and who have adults in their lives to help-have higher grades, better school attendance, and a sense of purpose."

- Search Institute

Some examples of sparks include basketball, cooking, astronomy, origami, reading, helping others, video games...the list is endless! We have successfully used student sparks throughout our STEM programs to cultivate a relationship with our students. We feel that students are more eager to share and connect with instructors as well as the other students. They are also the perfect tool for connecting to STEM careers!

I work with middle school students, and this step is probably the most difficult part of the process. At the beginning of the school year, when I ask my students about their hobbies, I generally only hear sports, video games, and music. Or silly answers like sleeping or burping.

While some of these are valid sparks, I really want my students to think deeply and reflect on what is their personal passion. Instead of cramming this reflection period into one class, I like to allow students a week or more to reflect and think about what defines a spark for them.

I tie this reflection period into several icebreakers:

Move Forward: Have students line up. As you make statements such as "I like basketball", students will move forward to indicate they have this interest.

Find Your Spark: This handout is a great self-reflection tool to think about their personal interests. You can find it for free in The STEM Space library.

Spark BINGO Game: Similar to the classic icebreaker, students go around the classroom and collect initials for sparks.

Share My Spark: I always share my own spark to give an example and share my own personal interests. This is a great way to connect with students beyond being a teacher.

Example Sparks: I try to give students a wide variety of ideas to jump start their own reflection. I also try to find actors or other popular personalities who have unique sparks such as rock climbing, astronomy, or origami.

Now the real challenge is connecting these interests to an actual STEM career. No one is an expert on all things STEM, but many resources exist to help expose your students to a wide range of fields. This helps combat common stereotypes about STEM that might be preventing kids from having an interest in science or engineering fields. For example. not all engineers design cars or robots. A student that loves animals might be fascinated about a biomedical engineer who designs a prosthetic leg for a horse. Or a football player might be interested in a mechanical engineer who designs a safer football helmet. To help you get started, here are a few strategies we use in our classroom:

Videos: Show videos of STEM professionals such as this one about a civil engineer. Point out related sparks such as building, creativity, helping people, and more.

Guest Speakers: Bring in local STEM professionals to share their journey in STEM. Ask them to talk about their hobbies and interests and how these are used in their STEM profession. Check out Nepris that brings industry through virtual web chats!

STEM Careers BINGO Game: Don't know every career in STEM? We got you covered! Vivify has created a BINGO game that covers 48 STEM careers. To bring each career to life, this also includes a presentation with examples and images of each career along with relevant sparks listed. In our classroom, we show the career definition and allow students a few minutes to guess the career. Students also write down any career that connects to their spark. Find the middle and high school version of the game here. And an elementary version (grades K-5) is now available in the links below!

Address Misconceptions: While discussing STEM, we recommend addressing any misconceptions head-on. Let's take engineering for example. Try doing a Google Image search of "engineer". What do you notice? I complete this activity in class, and my students point out that most pictures are of white males standing outside wearing a hard hat. Where are the minorities? Do you think engineering is just about managing a construction sites? Help students find other role models and example of engineers that are more relatable.

Online Resources: Tons of STEM career resources exist to help expose your kids to a wide range of fields. Some of our favorites include the Start Engineering magazine, STEM Jobs career quiz, or the Science Buddies careers list.

Once students are exposed to various STEM careers that connect with their sparks, ask them to pick a spark and STEM career for the year (or semester). These can be the foundation for many extension projects and activities.

At a minimum, we recommend having students make a visual representation of their spark and career.

Some ideas:

Personal Mission Patch: Just like a NASA mission patch, students create their own personal logo to symbolize their spark.

Spark Name Tag: Our students have their spark on their lanyard year-round. This helps us engage with students, especially since we have over 350 students every year.

3D Spark Model: We ask students to develop a 3D interactive model representing their spark using common materials such as tissue paper, art supplies, craft sticks, or recycled materials. This is perfect for a student showcase or family event.

Step 4: Continue the Discussion

STEM careers are not for one day. They need to be woven throughout the year through every activity or project. A few ideas to keep the conversation going:

Engineering Design Challenges: Connect every STEM challenge to a STEM career. If you use Vivify lessons, you will find a handout with a related STEM career. For example, our students become civil engineers to design catapults, aerospace engineers to design rockets, or mechanical engineers to create roller coasters. As you discuss the career, help students find the related sparks.

Mars Colony Competition: In our spring semester project, students work in teams to design a colony on Mars. You can find the complete project overview here. In this colony, students incorporate their sparks and STEM careers in their designs. For example, students may add a music room, basketball court, video game console, or library to represent their sparks. Plus, each of these spaces has to be adapted to the environment of living on Mars. Students also define their role in the colony based on their STEM career. For example, a civil engineer may support the overall design of the colony or a mechanical engineer creates robots to help with farming. Finally, students add their sparks and STEM careers to a team mission patch or logo that builds team unity.

How do you connect STEM careers in your classroom? Add a comment with your ideas!

Bonus: Break down Stereotypes!
Who is a STEM professional? Who is a scientist? Who is an engineer?
Everyone knows that engineers are nerdy guys with glasses and scientists always have crazy hair! Help students break down the stereotypes around STEM careers by showing them that anyone, including them, can be an engineer or scientist!

We have created an activity to uncover your students' misconceptions and highlight real living scientists and engineers that might not fit their stereotypes. Printed and digital versions provided!

This post was written in collaboration with Aspen Meineke. Aspen is a mechanical engineer and ran an after school STEM program while working with in San Antonio, Texas.

Let's talk careers. STEM careers are the fastest growing of any other field out there. Did you know there are more openings for STEM jobs than we have qualified workers to fill them? Plus 93% of STEM jobs earn wages that are nearly double the national average ( source). Do your students know about these opportunities? The high wages and abundant opportunities are exactly why the STEM education movement exists!

Do you talk about STEM careers in your classroom? This is definitely an overlooked topic as careers aren't on a standardized test. But the real world is beyond the test. We need to prepare our students for the demands and required skills of the 21st century workplace.

How do I start? Many educators have limited knowledge of STEM careers or real-world topics. They feel intimidated or overwhelmed. Or maybe they know about certain careers, but they are looking to expand their knowledge of the diverse field.

We can help! Read on for strategies to bring STEM careers to life in your classroom! Through activities that connect STEM to student interests, we will show you how to engage kids with the exciting possibilities of real-world STEM.

You can go on and on about engineering, but how do you get students to actually listen? They will only take notice if you find a way to connect STEM to their personal interests. By taking a students' passion and connecting it to a STEM career, it can help redefine what that career means to them.

The best approach we found was through the use of sparks. A spark is what a student is passionate about, what lights them up and gives them well......that "spark". Sparks were developed by the Search Institute, who explains them as follows:

"Sparks are the activities and interests that truly engage kids to be their best. Research shows that kids who know and develop their sparks-and who have adults in their lives to help-have higher grades, better school attendance, and a sense of purpose."

- Search Institute

Some examples of sparks include basketball, cooking, astronomy, origami, reading, helping others, video games...the list is endless! We have successfully used student sparks throughout our STEM programs to cultivate a relationship with our students. We feel that students are more eager to share and connect with instructors as well as the other students. They are also the perfect tool for connecting to STEM careers!

I work with middle school students, and this step is probably the most difficult part of the process. At the beginning of the school year, when I ask my students about their hobbies, I generally only hear sports, video games, and music. Or silly answers like sleeping or burping.

While some of these are valid sparks, I really want my students to think deeply and reflect on what is their personal passion. Instead of cramming this reflection period into one class, I like to allow students a week or more to reflect and think about what defines a spark for them.

I tie this reflection period into several icebreakers:

Move Forward: Have students line up. As you make statements such as "I like basketball", students will move forward to indicate they have this interest.

Find Your Spark: This handout is a great self-reflection tool to think about their personal interests. You can find it for free in The STEM Space library.

Spark BINGO Game: Similar to the classic icebreaker, students go around the classroom and collect initials for sparks.

Share My Spark: I always share my own spark to give an example and share my own personal interests. This is a great way to connect with students beyond being a teacher.

Example Sparks: I try to give students a wide variety of ideas to jump start their own reflection. I also try to find actors or other popular personalities who have unique sparks such as rock climbing, astronomy, or origami.

Now the real challenge is connecting these interests to an actual STEM career. No one is an expert on all things STEM, but many resources exist to help expose your students to a wide range of fields. This helps combat common stereotypes about STEM that might be preventing kids from having an interest in science or engineering fields. For example. not all engineers design cars or robots. A student that loves animals might be fascinated about a biomedical engineer who designs a prosthetic leg for a horse. Or a football player might be interested in a mechanical engineer who designs a safer football helmet. To help you get started, here are a few strategies we use in our classroom:

Videos: Show videos of STEM professionals such as this one about a civil engineer. Point out related sparks such as building, creativity, helping people, and more.

Guest Speakers: Bring in local STEM professionals to share their journey in STEM. Ask them to talk about their hobbies and interests and how these are used in their STEM profession. Check out Nepris that brings industry through virtual web chats!

STEM Careers BINGO Game: Don't know every career in STEM? We got you covered! Vivify has created a BINGO game that covers 48 STEM careers. To bring each career to life, this also includes a presentation with examples and images of each career along with relevant sparks listed. In our classroom, we show the career definition and allow students a few minutes to guess the career. Students also write down any career that connects to their spark. Find the middle and high school version of the game here. And an elementary version (grades K-5) is now available in the links below!

Address Misconceptions: While discussing STEM, we recommend addressing any misconceptions head-on. Let's take engineering for example. Try doing a Google Image search of "engineer". What do you notice? I complete this activity in class, and my students point out that most pictures are of white males standing outside wearing a hard hat. Where are the minorities? Do you think engineering is just about managing a construction sites? Help students find other role models and example of engineers that are more relatable.

Online Resources: Tons of STEM career resources exist to help expose your kids to a wide range of fields. Some of our favorites include the Start Engineering magazine, STEM Jobs career quiz, or the Science Buddies careers list.

Once students are exposed to various STEM careers that connect with their sparks, ask them to pick a spark and STEM career for the year (or semester). These can be the foundation for many extension projects and activities.

At a minimum, we recommend having students make a visual representation of their spark and career.

Some ideas:

Personal Mission Patch: Just like a NASA mission patch, students create their own personal logo to symbolize their spark.

Spark Name Tag: Our students have their spark on their lanyard year-round. This helps us engage with students, especially since we have over 350 students every year.

3D Spark Model: We ask students to develop a 3D interactive model representing their spark using common materials such as tissue paper, art supplies, craft sticks, or recycled materials. This is perfect for a student showcase or family event.

Step 4: Continue the Discussion

STEM careers are not for one day. They need to be woven throughout the year through every activity or project. A few ideas to keep the conversation going:

Engineering Design Challenges: Connect every STEM challenge to a STEM career. If you use Vivify lessons, you will find a handout with a related STEM career. For example, our students become civil engineers to design catapults, aerospace engineers to design rockets, or mechanical engineers to create roller coasters. As you discuss the career, help students find the related sparks.

Mars Colony Competition: In our spring semester project, students work in teams to design a colony on Mars. You can find the complete project overview here. In this colony, students incorporate their sparks and STEM careers in their designs. For example, students may add a music room, basketball court, video game console, or library to represent their sparks. Plus, each of these spaces has to be adapted to the environment of living on Mars. Students also define their role in the colony based on their STEM career. For example, a civil engineer may support the overall design of the colony or a mechanical engineer creates robots to help with farming. Finally, students add their sparks and STEM careers to a team mission patch or logo that builds team unity.

How do you connect STEM careers in your classroom? Add a comment with your ideas!

Bonus: Break down Stereotypes!
Who is a STEM professional? Who is a scientist? Who is an engineer?
Everyone knows that engineers are nerdy guys with glasses and scientists always have crazy hair! Help students break down the stereotypes around STEM careers by showing them that anyone, including them, can be an engineer or scientist!

We have created an activity to uncover your students' misconceptions and highlight real living scientists and engineers that might not fit their stereotypes. Printed and digital versions provided!

This post was written in collaboration with Aspen Meineke. Aspen is a mechanical engineer and ran an after school STEM program while working with in San Antonio, Texas.

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10 Easy STEM Career Classroom Activities - Vivify STEM

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Do you talk about STEM careers in your classroom? Perhaps you don't have a STEM background and feel intimidated. Or maybe you know about certain careers, but you are looking to expand your knowledge of the diverse field. We can help!

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A link to our OUSD STEAM Challenge Website. The Fall 2023 Challenge is "Basketball Goals" - have fun!

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Some great links to information about STEM Careers

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Choosing a STEM Career | PBS LearningMedia

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Students will view video clips about graduate and middle school students with interests in STEM careers and compare technologies from yesterday with today. They will explore careers on-line before writing about their futures as STEM professionals.

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National STEM Day is November 8th. Are you ready? Here are 8 ideas for celebrating in your classroom on National STEM Day and throughout the year!

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Some cute and fun activities, especially for younger ones.

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Did you know that every year in November there is a very special day for people like us? People who like science, technology, engineering, art, and math? It's National STEM Day (and National STEAM Day too!!) on November 8th. Why choose November 8th for a day that celebrates creativity, learning, and innovation? Because it can be abbreviated NOV8, i.e. innovate :) So let's all go innovate on November 8th with these 5 Fun Ways to Celebrate National STEM Day and National STEAM Day!!

What is STEM and Why is National STEM Day Important?

STEM is the abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math. Add the A from Art and it becomes STEAM. Both are integrated approaches to learning that encourage students to think more broadly about real-world problems.

This interdisciplinary approach has helped create innovations like the iPhone, the original laptop computer, and is helping solve world problems like revolutionizing cooking in third world countries, and improving air quality as a result.

It helps students:

Ask questions

Connect the dots

Problem solve

Think creatively

Be innovative

Not only can STEAM save the world, it can save our kids too by making their future bright. STEM jobs are expected to grow by 16% in the US between 2014 and 2024 compared to only 11% for other sectors*. And right now, science & engineering careers earn more than double the income of the median job in the United States.* Despite this, math performance in US students is faltering and STEM graduates are dropping out of their fields. And let's not even get started on some of the inequities for women and minorities....

And this is why STEM and STEAM deserve a day of celebration and exploration every year. I think every day should be STEM & STEAM day, but I'll start with one!!!

5 Fun Activities for National STEM Day

Here are some entertaining things for you to do on National STEM Day with the kids.

1. Code their play.

Add some screen-free coding to their play with this If-Then Coding Game . It's a creative spin on a well-loved playground game and super easy to add to recess, after-school, or classroom fun. It gets kids moving AND learning and makes a great brain break during the day.

2. Explore architecture AND color.

I'm a firm believer in the power of adding the A(rt) to STEM. It encourages open-ended, creative thinking, which is so essential for kids these days. These are one of my favorite ways to do it, too... Kids can build and customize their paper houses with color. And even wire them up with circuits (once the color is dry), too. For the younger kids, premake the houses and let them explore color mixing and have them do their building on the side. The kids loved it in my Bev Bos-inspired preschool co-op!

3. Turn the recycling bin into something cool.

Add some motion to the day with this Recycled Balloon Car. It's a perfect way to introduce physics to kids in a fun, hands-on project. Balloon cars are always a hit and easy on the budget. Split up into teams, race each other, and capture some data and you've checked off a ton of those standards for the year!

For the younger kids, check out this upcycled Toilet Paper Roll Catapult.

And check out this amazing way to Explore Sound Science with a Tonoscope!

4. Help them dream big.

Encourage your STEM and STEAM Kids to dream big with these unique Superhero STEAM Challenges. They'll have fun designing Gotham City's skyline with cardboard or testing various materials to see which makes the strongest shield. Or you can add some other challenge themes to National STEM Day like Star Wars or Kitchen, or pick another favorite in our 151 STEAM Challenges for Kids ebook.

5. Make it STREAM.

Gasp!! I know, we probably don't need one more letter to add to STEM, but I LOVE adding reading to STEM activities. You don't have to call it STREAM, though, just make storytime a creative building session with these Storytime STEAM Lego Challenges. Grab a book with some science or art in it to inspire their building. Rosie Revere, Iggy Peck, and are some of my favorites.

More STEM and STEAM for National STEM Day (and the rest of the year too!)

Want some more great lists of activities for STEM and STEAM Day? Check out our annual 28 Days of STEM and STEAM Series from , Year 2, and Year 3. There are over a hundred different projects to check out!

Looking for some more STEAM inspiration that you can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Explorers!! The coolest creative experience for kids is here! It's a digital book of the month club filled with tons of fun stuff for the kids to do and learn. All engineer, teacher, and mom-approved. And most definitely KID APPROVED!⁣

What's included?⁣

A monthly digital magazine with cool themes that are fun to read

Hands-on, exciting projects the kids will love.⁣

Science, tech, engineering, art, and math learning YOU'LL love.⁣

Delicious recipes the kids can make.⁣

Fun printables and games⁣

Get ready to have fun with hands-on STEAM this Halloween! Join us this October as we investigate bats, brains, spiders, candy, and pumpkins through hands-on STEAM!The kids will love building a spider bot, getting grossed out by delicious spider egg cookies, and learning about the brain with hands-on play.

We've split the issue into four weekly themes:

WEEK 1: SENSATIONAL SPIDERS

WEEK 2: PUMPKIN PROJECTS

WEEK 3: SPOOKY STEAM

WEEK 4: TRICK OR TREAT

* http://vitalsigns.changetheequation.org/state/united-states/print

** SEI 2014 Chapter 3 " S&E Labor Market Conditions " Earnings

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5 Fun Ways to Celebrate National STEM Day and STEAM Day

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Celebrate National STEM Day and National STEAM Day with these fun hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and math activities and projects the kids will love. Perfect for school, scouts, after school, makerspaces, and more!

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Lots of Lesson Plans available for multiple subjects and grade levels.

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Want to improve student focus and critical thinking? What about increasing creativity and teamwork? No matter what grade you're teaching or what subject you're covering, take advantage of our comprehensive library of lesson plans created by teachers for teachers.