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STEM ideas

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I've scoured the internet, including all of my favourite social media sites, to bring you a fantastic collection of online inquiry and inventive thinking resources that I know will inspire and motivate both you and your students. The collection includes Lego, science, practical activity ideas, engineering, videos, animation, technology and a tonne of fun facts - so there is sure to be something for everyone!

YOUTUBE & VIDEO

RubeGoldberg.com Video Gallery: As I have previously shared, Rube Goldberg challenges provide a wonderful base for the integration of knowledge of simple machines with the application of a range of architectural and engineering based skills. The videos in this gallery are sure to inspire students to want to have a go for themselves.

WEBSITES

PINTEREST

Pinterest is a veritable smorgasbord of great ideas across all grades and subject areas. Here are eight fabulous Pinterest boards dedicated to science, technology, math and engineering ideas for kids to start your search off right.

FACEBOOK

Next time you're hanging out on Facebook check out these great science and engineering inspired pages. You might just find some fun facts or interesting project ideas to share with your kids.
What are your favourite online resources for inspiring kids to think?
You may also like:

Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.

Read more of Christie's adventures at https://childhood101.com.

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35 Educational Resources to Encourage Inquiry & Inventive Thinking | Childhood101

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I've scoured the internet, including all of my favourite social media sites, to bring you a fantastic collection of online inquiry and inventive thinking resources that I know will inspire and motivate both you and your students.

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Explore meaningful Problems

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Teaching and Learning for Deeper Learning

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Teaching and Learning for Deeper Learning Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action. Are any of these approaches being used successfully in your school or district? Tell us your story There are a variety of instructional approaches and

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Worlds Apart | Engineering is Elementary

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How do scientists and engineers gather information from places in the solar system that are difficult to reach? In this unit, youth use the Engineering Design Process to design remote sensing devices that can help scientists learn about a newly discovered moon.

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Bianca Clarke

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Mohini was a regal white tiger who lived for many years at the Washington DC National Zoo. For most of those years her home was in the old lion house-a typical twelve-by-twelve-foot cage with iron bars and a cement floor. Mohini spent her days pacing restlessly back and forth in her cramped quarters. Eventually, biologists and staff worked together to create a natural habitat for her. Covering several acres, it had hills, trees, a pond and a variety of vegetation. With excitement and anticipation they released Mohini into her new and expansive environment. But it was too late. The tiger immediately sought refuge in a corner of the compound, where she lived for the remainder of her life. Mohini paced and paced in that corner until an area twelve-by-twelve feet was worn bare of grass. - Tara Brach on the Tim Ferris podcast
When I first heard the above story on a podcast, I immediately stopped and listened to it again. The analogy hit home.

We spend so much time preparing our students and slowly giving them choice and voice in their learning. We build up to the idea that when they finally leave our K-12 institutions they will be free and well prepared to take on the world and find their way in a new environment.

And yet, it's not easy to stop doing things the way you've been doing them your entire life once you get some choice. I've seen this firsthand as someone who almost failed out of college by my sophomore year (I had a 1.3 GPA). I changed my major six times debating on "what I wanted to be" when I left school. It took me five years of college to find my way into teaching. Mostly because I didn't spend any time scratching my itch in high school.

This is not to say that I didn't love my school experience. I did. Especially the extra-curricular and social aspects of school. But, I rarely had the opportunity during school to navigate choices, create my own learning path, and break free from the game of school.

And this was not only my dilemma. I'm sure you faced similar challenges towards the end of your K-12 experience. All these existential questions start coming up like, "Who do I want to be?" and "What do I want to do with my life?"

My students felt the same way at first when I presented them with choice in the 20% project. Other students find this to be the most difficult aspect of Genius Hour or other choice and inquiry-based learning experiences.

When they have the choice to make their own learning path and create something they are interested in, many students feel trapped like the tiger Mohini.

My question (and it's not rhetorical) is, "Are we waiting too long to give our students choice and voice in their learning?"

When I see stories like Jason Seliskar's class having a student edcamp, I think about the potential bottled up in many of our students. When I watch videos of Caine's arcade and the global cardboard challenge I get excited that the pendulum is swinging towards voice and choice at an earlier age. It's the reason I've been such a huge believer in the power of Genius Hour and 20% Projects to give our students the freedom to choose what they learn, what they make, and how they share it.

And yet, I know how hard my first-grade daughter's teachers work to help her learn to read and write, understand basic mathematic principles, and guide her through the standards. I get the enormous pressures put on teachers to follow the curriculum, prepare students to be successful on standardized assessments, and cover (instead of exploring) specific content.

This is the reality of our situation.

So what can we do to make sure our students don't stay confined when given the opportunity to explore, make, and create on their own terms?

It's simple, really: Make the most of every opportunity.

That half day where you don't truly get anything accomplished? Give students a Genius Hour.

That day before break where students have parties and often watch movies? Let students Make something.

That lesson you got through quicker than expected? Challenge your students to solve a problem together.

Or maybe you can schedule one day this year where your students can make, build, design, and create!
We are hoping thousands of teachers join us on May 6th for the Global Day of Design to do just that.
John Spencer and I have even created a free Maker Challenge series of lesson plans to get you started. Fill out your info below to get the FREE 5 Lesson Maker Challenge: Create Your Own Sport. It's fun, based on design-thinking, and will have your students being problem-solvers and makers in no time!

I know we all can't completely change our current circumstances and give choice all of the time. That's ok. But let's take the steps to give our students a voice in their learning any chance that we do get.

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How Long Will We Wait to Give Students Choice?

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Mohini was a regal white tiger who lived for many years at the Washington DC National Zoo. For most of those years her home was in the old lion house-a typical twelve-by-twelve-foot cage with iron bars and a cement floor. Mohini spent her days pacing restlessly back and forth in her cramped quarters.

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The Global Day of Design just wrapped up on May 2nd. If you want to see what happens when 80,000+ students embrace design thinking, check out the Twitter stream and #GDD17 hashtag!

Students from six different continents (over 20 countries) participated and rocked this event in the second year in existence. Teachers and entire schools carved time out for students to not only beginning with empathy, not only brainstorm and navigate ideas, but to make, create, build, and design while in school.

This was only one day, and although the event was a success for our students, the real question is: What happens when students embrace design thinking beyond one day?

For this, I wanted so share a story that 2nd-grade teacher Carin Zecca wrote in her blog:
Today we decided to write cards to our school Nurse, as tomorrow is School Nurse Appreciation Day. Their assignment was to write at least 3 sentences about the nurse and what she had done for us. Then create a card and decorate it. That's it. Nothing fancy, no real design. Not a challenge, not a collaboration. Just write a card. The only thing similar to the #GDD17 was that they had a real audience and a real purpose. Now for the miracle: The students started working diligently on their cards. Writing complete sentences, using capitals and periods. Tapping out words and spelling as best as they could. As they began decorating, one child said, "Hey, I'm going to draw a Band-Aid because she always gives us Band-Aids." Followed by another child saying, "Can we use real Band-Aids?" Followed by me saying, "Why not?" So we got a box of Band-aids. Then we pulled out the craft sticks and the glue. Then the creativity and innovation started. They began placing the crafts sticks in different ways to enhance the function of their cards. One used it to make the card into a fan. Another used it as a Band-Aid decoration. All different ideas using the same materials.
As the other classes came, we shared what others had done. The cards became even more innovative. By the last class I was amazed at what had happened. The students started making pop-up cards! One student asked, "What can we use in this room to make this stand up?" Then the collaboration began and the whole room took on another look:

Students started helping each other with the cards, creating new ideas, sharing ideas, and changing their original ones. They had created their own design challenge without any instruction. Fully intrinsically motivated! I couldn't believe my own eyes! This is the goal, right? To teach students life long skills and hope and pray that they see their own way to generalize them into other areas? My heart was bursting with pride and wonder. How did this happen? A miracle, or exposure to the skills with the #GDD17?
But now we have to spread the word. We have to let teachers know how effective and powerful design challenges are and what they do for the future. My goal is to get this story out to 100 people. That's how important I believe this message to be. We have to teach students these skills and allow them to use them in all other areas. My students had become critical thinkers, all the while using collaborating with each other to solve problems. What more can we ask for?
What More Can We Ask For?

As teachers, school leaders, and parents: What more could we ask for? This isn't about getting kids engaged, it is about much more than that.
Our goals have to change.
When students are engaged they are attentive to our chosen content and objectives. They are giving their full focus to the resources, texts, and problems we are asking them to solve. They are being committed to completing our curriculum and assessments in ways we have asked them to demonstrate mastery.

What about the problems they want to solve? The topics they find interesting? The areas they want to dive deeper into and learn more about?

What about their future? The one where they will have to make their own path, decide what challenges to tackle, and what opportunities to take. The future where they will struggle, make mistakes, and not be sure what direction is best.

Our job is not to prepare students for something, our job is to help students prepare themselves for anything.

Design thinking helps lays the groundwork for making this shift. When we shift from preparing students for what's next, to helping them prepare for anything, a world of possibilities open up in their learning.
How We Make the Shift as Teachers and Leaders
Thanks to all who participated in this year's Global Day of Design. But the work is just starting. Let's not stop there. Let's keep working towards an empowered learning environment for all our students, whether they are in or out of school.

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What happens when students embrace design thinking?

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The Global Day of Design just wrapped up on May 2nd. If you want to see what happens when 80,000+ students embrace design thinking, check out the Twitter stream and #GDD17 hashtag! Students from six different continents (over 20 countries) participated and rocked this event in the second year in existence.

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PBL ideas

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Great Genius Hour and 20% Time resources including grade level success stories, why you would want to do Genius hour, how 20% time works, how to get started, how to work through issues, and how to communicate with parents about the projects.

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Sign up for a series of PBL ideas.

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our expanding library of project ideas that are standards-aligned, and cover a range of grade levels and subject areas.

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Maths, science, Engineering, Ethics, Digital Technologies

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The Moon Camp Challenge is an educational and inspirational project run by ESA and Airbus Foundation, in partnership with Autodesk. It features preparatory classroom activities that focus on learning-by-design and science experimentation. Students will have to develop a number of curricular scientific experiments related to the Moon and apply their acquired knowledge in an interdisciplinary manner to design their own Moon Camp using a 3D modelling tool (Tinkercad or Fusion 360).

The Moon Camp Challenge is divided into two separate missions featuring different levels of complexity: Category 1, up to (and including) 12 years old, and Category 2, from 13 to (and including) 18 years old.

Registrations are now closed. Access the Moon Camp classroom resources.

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The Moon Camp Challenge is an educational and inspirational project run by ESA and Airbus Foundation, in partnership with Autodesk. It features preparatory classroom activities that focus on learning-by-design and science experimentation.