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https://lemonlimeadventures.com/engineering-for-kids-building-with-jelly-beans/

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If you have been a regular around here, you know just how much we love building with different materials. We love any sort of project that encourages engineering for kids. We have built with pumpkins, hearts, gumdrops and now jelly beans. Each time we change our challenge just a tad. This time the challenge was to "build".
This post might contain affiliate links for your convenience.
Building Structures with Jelly Beans

Building structures with marshmallows is a classic engineering project for all ages. We absolutely love building with toothpicks and candies. It is quick and simple and loads of fun! Normally, we do several challenges along with our building, however this time around, we wanted to "grow" our creations. You can choose to lead your children in an activity or let them freely explore.

Setting up the Experiment
Materials: Toothpicks Jelly Beans
Building Blocks with Jelly Beans

As with most of the projects I give the boys, I let them lead. This project was no different. I never imagined that my 7 year old would decide to make building blocks for his project. In fact, we made a challenge to build using 100 jelly beans and toothpicks but this is what he turned it into instead. I am glad he did, because the results were really cool!

It was really cool when he was finished, because the learning was just beginning. Once he built around 20 cubes he was ready to build on a another level completely. This time he took the blocks and built towers, buildings, and structures. He enjoyed making his towers grow as he tested and balanced the blocks.

The blocks lasted over a month and became a permanent art fixture in our living room when he was done. I just love how this simple science/math project of building with jelly beans turned into such a great expression of creativity!

This post is the last week in month long series with some of my favorite bloggers who all love STEAM. Because learning with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math gives kids the power to do almost anything they can dream up. This week is all about ways to Grow.

DIY Salt Crystal Landscape // Babble Dabble Do

All About Tinker Trays // Meri Cherry

14 Activities with Balloons // All For the Boys

Transforming Ninja Star // What Do We Do All Day?

How to Grow Aragonite Crystals // TinkerLab

Frugal Fun For Boys

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Engineering for Kids | Building with Jelly Beans

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If you have been a regular around here, you know just how much we love building with different materials. We love any sort of project that encourages engineering for kids. We have built with pumpkins, hearts, gumdrops and now jelly beans. Each time we change our challenge just a tad.

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https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/straw-boats/

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Design a boat made from nothing but straws and tape, and see how many items it can hold before it sinks. Straw boats STEM challenge!

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https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/249143200/editor?tutorial=animate-an-adventure-game

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https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/egg-drop-activity-stem-challenge-young-kids/

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Take the egg drop challenge for an awesome STEM project for young kids and older ones too! Your imagination is the limit with this cleverly styled egg drop as you investigate what makes for the best shock absorber for dropping an egg. We have tons more STEM activities for you to try! Read on to find out how the egg drop challenge works and what are the best materials for an egg drop.

Take the Egg Drop Challenge

Egg drop challenges are super cool and are terrific STEM activities! I have been waiting to do a classic egg drop project for some time with my son but felt like he was too young.

The goal of the egg drop challenge is to drop your egg from a height without it breaking when it hits the ground.

Most egg drop projects use many loose materials, design making, and tinkering that my son isn't ready for yet. I thought we could expand on it by using materials in our kitchen to protect the eggs including ziptop bags to control the mess.

What else can you do with eggs? Watch the video!

What Makes a Good STEM Project?

First, what is STEM? STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. It's the new word on the street because of our tech-rich society and the lean towards the sciences and getting kids engaged early.

A good STEM project will have a little of at least 2 of the 4 pillars of STEM and often you will find a solid experiment or challenge naturally uses bits and pieces of most of the pillars. As you can see these 4 areas are very intertwined.
LEARN MORE: What Is STEM?
STEM doesn't have to be boring, expensive, or time-consuming. We love to always try out neat STEM activities, and you can use super simple supplies to make great STEM projects.

Make it an Egg Drop Experiment.

Want to turn this fun science activity into a science fair project? Then, you will want to check out these helpful resources.

Here are some ideas to remember to change the variables for an egg drop science fair project.

Standard Egg Drop: Start with the classic challenge where students must design a contraption to protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from a certain height. They can experiment with different materials and shapes for their protective devices.

Materials Investigation: Have students investigate the properties of different materials. Ask them to design a container for the egg using various materials like paper, cardboard, plastic, and foam. Then, compare which material offers the best protection.

Shape Experiment: Explore the impact of the shape of the container on the egg's safety. Students can create different shapes, such as cubes, spheres, or pyramids, and see which one works best.

Parachute Design: Challenge students to design a parachute system that slows down the egg's descent. This adds an aerodynamics element to the project.

Weight Constraint: Introduce the maximum weight constraint for the entire contraption. This requires students to think about the trade-off between protection and weight.

Altitude Variations: Change the height from which the egg is dropped. Ask students to adjust their designs for different drop heights and explain how they made these adjustments.

Add These STEM Questions for Reflection

These Use these questions for reflection with your kids after they have completed the STEM challenge to STEM questions for reflection are perfect to use with older kiddos to talk about how the project went and what they might do differently next time around. encourage discussion of results and critical thinking.

-> Get the printable STEM questions list here.

1. What were some of the challenges you discovered along the way?

2. What worked well and what did not work well?

3. What part of your model or prototype do you really like? Explain why.

4. What part of your model or prototype needs improvement? Explain why.

5. What other materials would you like to use if you could do this challenge again?

6. What would you do differently next time?

7. What parts of your model or prototype are similar to the real world version?

What are the Best Materials for an Egg Drop?

We have two versions of this egg drop challenge below, one for older kids and one for younger kids. Do you need real eggs? Usually, I would say yes, but given the circumstances, how about candy-filled plastic eggs? If you don't want to waste food for any reason, don't! Find a workaround instead.

Egg Drop Ideas for Older Kids

Older kiddos will love coming up with ideas to protect the egg in an egg drop. Certainly, egg drop designs can be more involved the older a kid gets making this a great activity to try each year. Some materials they may want to use...

Packaging materials

Tissue

Old t-shirts or rags

Recycling container goodies

Styrofoam

String

Bags

And so much more!

Here's a past year's winner in the egg drop challenge! It even included a plastic bag parachute!

Egg Drop Ideas for Younger Kids

You will need eggs and plastic ziptop bags to contain the mess! How many is up to you. We had 7 bags left, so we came up with six items from around the kitchen to fill the bags and protect the eggs and one with nothing.

I tried to pick items that weren't too wasteful, and we had a few expired and unused items in the pantry. Some materials you could use to protect the egg...

How Does the Egg Drop Challenge Work?
Create your own egg drop designs to protect your egg from breaking when it is dropped from a height.
If using the zip lock bags, fill all your bags with packaging materials while carefully fitting an egg into each bag. You can tape the bags shut if you want. We did use tape for the bag of water.

Once your bags are completed, your egg drop challenge is ready for you to test. Make sure to drop the eggs from the same height each time.

Make predictions before you drop each bag and ask the kids why they think that will happen.
Note: I wasn't sure what my son was going to do with the cups, but it was up to him to decide. He thought of making a lid out of the big cup. That's the best part of a STEM challenge!
Check Our Our Egg Drop Experiment

The first egg drop challenge had to be the egg in the zip-top bag. We had to ensure the bag wasn't protecting the egg, right? Crash and splat went that egg drop. Since it's already in a bag, I might as well squish it around!

We continued with the egg drop challenge, testing each bag and then examining the contents. This egg drop project had some clear winners!

IDEAS THAT FAILED!

Obviously, the egg did not fair well with no protection. It also didn't make it through an egg drop in water or ice. Note: We tried the water twice! Once with 8 cups and once with 4 cups.

EGG DROP IDEAS THAT WORKED!

However, the egg drop did make it through the crazy cup contraption. We were all impressed. It also made it through a drop in a bag of cereal. The egg, however, did not fare well in the paper towels. He didn't think the towels were thick enough!

It would be a great egg drop project idea to explore: how to drop an egg without breaking it using paper!

We concluded the egg drop challenge, with a bag of flour mix. {This was very old gluten-free mix we will never use}. The flour was "soft" apparently making for great protection against the fall.

What is the Best Way to Protect an Egg in an Egg Drop?

We learned that there is no best way to protect an egg. There are multiple ways to do the egg drop successfully. What egg drop design ideas will you come up with?

We did love that clean-up was a snap with our eggs in the bag! The eggs and bags that didn't make it went right to the trash, and the other materials were easily put away. Although we taped the bag with water in it, it still got things a bit wet!

This egg drop style is great for young kids as it is quick and simple but fun. I also love that it encourages a bit of problem-solving and experimenting without being overwhelming.

More Egg Science Activities

Get the eggs ready for more simple science projects to explore chemistry, biology, and physics!

More Favorite STEM Challenges

Straw Boats Challenge - Design a boat made from nothing but straws and tape, and see how many items it can hold before it sinks.

How Strong Is An Egg - Test much weight one egg can hold before it breaks.

Strong Spaghetti - Get out the pasta and test our your spaghetti bridge designs. Which one will hold the most weight?

Paper Bridges - Similar to our strong spaghettti challenge. Design a paper bridge with folded paper. Which one will hold the most coins?

Paper Chain STEM Challenge - One of the simplest STEM challenges ever!

Spaghetti Marshmallow Tower - Build the tallest spaghetti tower that can hold the weight of a jumbo marshmallow.

Strong Paper - Experiment with folding paper in different ways to test its strength, and learn about what shapes make the strongest structures.

Marshmallow Toothpick Tower - Build the tallest tower using only marshmallows and toothpicks.

Penny Boat Challenge - Design a simple tin foil boat, and see how many pennies it can hold before it sinks.

ridge - Build a bridge from gumdrops and toothpicks and see how much weight it can hold.

Cup Tower Challenge - Make the tallest tower you can with 100 paper cups.

Paper Clip Challenge - Grab a bunch of paper clips and make a chain. Are paper clips strong enough to hold weight?

Printable STEM Pack for Kids

80+ Doable Engineering Projects in one convenient pack!

Full instructions with sample images

Activity-specific instruction sheets

Data Collection Sheets

Questions for Reflection

Architecture Building Cards: Try the tallest tower challenge

Bridge Building Cards: Explore different types of bridges to build your own.

Paper Chain STEM Challenge: Who can make the longest chain? Great icebreaker or quick challenge!

3 Little Pigs Architectural Pack: Design a house that won't blow away!

Great marshmallow challenge: A classic challenge kids love!

Real-world STEM challenge lesson but don't know where to start? Our easy-to-follow template shows the steps!

What's the difference between a scientist and an engineer?

Crossword and word search with engineering vocabulary.

Engineering vocabulary cards

Design a one-of-a-kind invention and write about it with this 5-page activity!

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Best Egg Drop Project Ideas - Little Bins for Little Hands

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Take the Egg Drop challenge at school or home. Low mess and great learning with a simple egg drop project all ages can enjoy.

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https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/fine-motor-activities-marshmallows-toothpicks/

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Toothpick and Marshmallow Tower Challenge

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Build a marshmallow and toothpick tower for a fun and budget-friendly way to explore STEM with kids. Free printable.

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https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/cup-tower-challenge/

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Here's another easy STEM challenge coming your way! The classic Cup Tower Challenge is a quick STEM challenge that can be set up right away and is great for elementary age kids and older! Add in our free cup tower PDF printable, and you're good to go with your engineering and math lesson today.

MAKE THE TALLEST TOWER OF CUPS

WHAT IS THE CUP CHALLENGE?
Basically, the cup challenge is to build the tallest tower using 100 cups!
This specific STEM challenge can be completed in a short amount of time with younger kids, but you can also add layers of complexity to it for older kids. Add this one to your resource of awesome STEM activities, and you'll always be prepared!

Many STEM projects use critical thinking skills as well as math, and engineering skills and this one is no exception. Attention to detail is a must and pre-planning is encouraged! This can be timed or not timed.

Additionally, if you have the time, add in a design and planning stage and a conclusion stage where everyone shares what worked and what didn't. See our STEM reflection questions.
Ask a few questions:

What factors contribute to one tower being taller than the other?

What was the most challenging thing about this STEM project?

What would you do differently if you had a chance to try it again?

What worked well and what didn't work well during the challenge?

HOW MANY CUPS DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A TOWER?

100 cups is often chosen as an easy way to prep this activity for a group of kids to do. It provides a limit so that kids can exercise their creativity and ingenuity.

However, in all honesty, it doesn't need to be 100 cups! Whatever you have is fine. You know, the ones left over from birthdays or that last family party. If you need to buy a bag, that's ok too. There are plenty of ways to do this challenge and reuse the cups!

Nerf and cups are great too! We had friends over, and I set up these tower challenge cups all around the house for targets! Or how about catapult targets? There are so many possibilities...

Use more cups to make your tower if you really want to challenge your kids. Ask the kiddos how tall they want to build it and see if they can do it! Or use less if you are doing this activity with younger kids, or you are short on time.
TIP: Although this is a one-supply challenge, you can add items such as index cards and popsicle/craft sticks to it for added challenges like we did here. For more fun cup tower ideas check out...
STEM CHALLENGE SUPPLIES

This is one of my favorite STEM building challenges because it's so inexpensive to set up and uses just one type of supply - cups. See here for more .

The FREE printable STEM pack below is also a great way to introduce even more low-cost STEM activities into the mix that kids of all ages can tackle. It will definitely keep them busy!

CUP TOWER CHALLENGE

Let's get started! Use this STEM activity as a fantastic way to start the day or as a way to end the day. Either way, kids have a lot of fun with it!

CUP TOWER CHALLENGE #1: Who can make the tallest cup tower (doesn't have to be 100)?
CUP TOWER CHALLENGE #2: Who can make the tallest 100-cup tower? CUP TOWER CHALLENGE #3: Can you build a tower as tall as you or as tall as the door frame?
TIME NEEDED: At least 15-20 minutes is usually a good time allotment if you need to keep track of the clock, but it can also end up being an open-ended activity that can morph into new challenges.

YOU WILL NEED:

Cups (100 if possible)

Index cards, craft sticks, cardboard (optional)

Printable Sheets

CUP TOWER CHALLENGE STEPS

Another thing I love about this quick STEM activity is the setup time! The supplies are definitely easy to grab, so you can try this STEM project right away. Everyone gets a sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, and tape.

If you need to go and get cups, try the PAPER CHAIN STEM CHALLENGE in the meantime.

STEP 1: Give out supplies. An example: set a bag of cups on the counter! It's that easy!

STEP 2: Give a minute or two for a planning phase (optional).

STEP 3: Set a time limit (15-20 minutes is ideal). This is also optional.

STEP 4: Once the time is up, have the kids measure the tower (s).

Hint: Incorporate extra math in this step!

Grab a measuring tape to measure and record each tower.

If more than one tower is made, compare heights of towers.

If the challenge was to make a tower as tall as the door or the kiddo, how many cups did it take?

Count to 100 as pick up the cups or use the nerf guns to take down the towers first and then count to 100 or whatever number!

STEP 5: If it works for you, have each kiddo share his/her thoughts on the challenge. A good engineer or scientist always shares his/her findings or results.

STEP 6: Have fun!

MORE QUICK AND EASY STEM CHALLENGES

Straw Boats Challenge - Design a boat made from nothing but straws and tape, and see how many items it can hold before it sinks.

Strong Spaghetti - Get out the pasta and test our your spaghetti bridge designs. Which one will hold the most weight?

Paper Bridges - Similar to our strong spaghettti challenge. Design a paper bridge with folded paper. Which one will hold the most coins?

Paper Chain STEM Challenge - One of the simplest STEM challenges ever!

Egg Drop Challenge - Create your own designs to protect your egg from breaking when it is dropped from a height.

Strong Paper - Experiment with folding paper in different ways to test its strength, and learn about what shapes make the strongest structures.

Marshmallow Toothpick Tower - Build the tallest tower using only marshmallows and toothpicks.

Penny Boat Challenge - Design a simple tin foil boat, and see how many pennies it can hold before it sinks.

ridge - Build a bridge from gumdrops and toothpicks and see how much weight it can hold.

Spaghetti Marshmallow Tower - Build the tallest spaghetti tower that can hold the weight of a jumbo marshmallow.

Paper Clip Challenge - Grab a bunch of paper clips and make a chain. Are paper clips strong enough to hold weight?

THE CUP TOWER CHALLENGE IS A MUST TRY!
Want even more great ways to learn with STEM at home or in the classroom? Click here.

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Build a tower of cups with this quick and easy STEM challenge idea. Includes printable cup tower challenge pdf.

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https://carlyandadam.com/thecarlyandadam/hurricane-stem-challenge

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My students had a blast completing this activity, but more importantly they walked away with a greater understanding of the events going on in their world.

Everything you need to complete this challenge with your students is included in our Hurricane STEM Challenge Resource including teacher instructions, student instructions, and a student journal with recording sheets and reflections.

Engage students in learning about hurricanes, volcanoes, blizzards, earthquakes, and tornadoes with STEM using our Natural Disasters STEM resource!

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Hurricane STEM Challenge - Carly and Adam

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Earlier this fall we experienced multiple hurricanes in and around the United States. As a teacher in Indiana, my students are not very familiar with hurricanes.

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https://raisinglifelonglearners.com/make-a-paper-plate-maze-stem-challenge/

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Raising Lifelong Learners - Inspiring families to create, discover, and grow together.

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STEM activities are a lot of fun and educational, but the best kind of STEM activities are open-ended, allowing children to think for themselves. In this paper plate maze STEM challenge, kids are challenged to make a marble maze using household materials. They must follow all elements of a real design process, including brainstorming, blueprints, prototypes, tweaking, and testing their designs.

Make a Paper Plate Maze STEM Challenge

Kids can learn a lot from a paper plate maze STEM challenge. The goal is to show kids how a product is made from start to finish, using all elements of science, technology, engineering, and math.

What you'll need to have on hand:

Paper plates

Various household supplies (cardboard, straws, cotton balls, string, etc)

Glue (we found tacky glue and hot glue worked best)

Scissors

Marbles

First, issue the challenge. The goal of this project is to get a maze made that fits a marble, contained inside a paper plate, that works completely, and doesn't break when playing with it. Kids will have to use quite a few skills to get this design to work.

Supply your kids with a variety of materials. You might challenge each kid to use a different material for greater creativity.

Wait until everyone's design is dry, then test them out.

What designs worked best? What designs were not as good? What were the best parts and worst parts of each design? How could the kids improve on them in the future?

Paper Plate Maze STEM Challenge Explained

Kids can learn a lot from designing their own maze. Kids learn elements of the design process, such as the selection of the right materials for the task, making sure the design is precise, trying out multiple designs, and testing to make sure it works properly. In our design, we wanted to be able to race two balls through the maze at the same time, similar to a pinball machine. The kids soon found out it can be pretty tricky to get two designs to work in the same place.

More fun science for kids:

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Make a Paper Plate Maze STEM Challenge - Raising Lifelong Learners

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STEM activities are a lot of fun and educational, but the best kind of STEM activities are open-ended, allowing children to think for themselves. In this paper plate maze STEM challenge, kids are challenged to make a marble maze using household materials.

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Let’s talk about a little math. When we look at the perimeter of an object like an index card we would simply multiply length times width. For an index card that would mean 3×5=15.

Can we use scissors to change the perimeter to make the card bigger? YES.

https://www.science-sparks.com/can-you-step-through-an-index-card/#:~:text=When%20you%20look%20at%20an,same%2C%20it%20just%20gets%20redistributed.

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Can you step through an index card? Find out how with this easy trick.

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https://frugalfun4boys.com/drops-of-water-on-a-penny-awesome-science/#:~:text=We%20tried%20this%20several%20times,plain%20water%20with%20soapy%20water.

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How many drops of water fit on a penny? Here's a quick and easy science experiment that kids will love because the results are impressive!
This science experiment teaches kids about the concept of surface tension. They'll also be exploring how soap destroys surface tension by pushing the water molecules apart from each other.

When you ask kids how many drops of water will fit on a penny, they'll probably guess 3 or 4 drops. Maybe 5. Everyone knows that drops of water aren't very big, but then again, neither is a penny! So a penny probably won't hold many drops.

Kids will be very surprised to find out how many drops of water a penny can hold. It's actually a LOT!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means that I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

In this experiment, we'll compare the surface tension of water with the surface tension of soapy water. Soap greatly decreases surface tension!

The procedure for this experiment is simple. Use a dropper/pipette to drop water onto a penny. Carefully count the drops as you go. These plastic pipettes work well. We like having them on hand for all kinds of activities.

It's just amazing to watch the drops of water pile up on the penny! We tried this several times, and we were able to get 23-27 drops on the penny each time before the water ran off the side.

Then we compared the surface tension of plain water with soapy water. Would we be able to get the same number of drops of soapy water onto the penny?

Nope. Only 12-15. We could only get about half as many drops of soapy water on the penny before the water ran off over the side.
The Science Behind the Penny Drops Experiment
The way water creates a rounded surface is called surface tension. Surface tension is what allows you to fill a glass all the way to the top... and then some! It's what gives the water the domed look on the penny.

Water has strong surface tension because of its polarity. Water molecules are polar, meaning that one end of each molecule has a positive charge while the other end has a negative charge. Because of these opposite charges, water molecules are attracted to each other. They form hydrogen bonds with each other. If you're working with young kids, you can tell them that it's like the water molecules are holding hands with each other and they don't want to let go! This is what is happening on top of the penny.

Soap decreases the surface tension of water by pushing apart the water molecules. Each soap molecule has an end that is attracted to water and an end that repels water. The hydrophobic ends of the soap molecules (the ends that don't want to be near water) squeeze their way between water the molecules as they work their way to the surface. You can read more about soap and its effect on surface tension here.
Need more simple science ideas? We have tons of educational and engaging science experiments!
See more than 25 Cool Science Experiments here.

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Drops of Water on a Penny {Awesome Science!} - Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls

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How many drops of water fit on a penny? Here's a quick and easy science experiment that kids will love because the results are impressive! This science experiment teaches kids about the concept of surface tension. They'll also be exploring how soap destroys surface tension by pushing the water molecules apart from each other.

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https://frugalfun4boys.com/lego-brain-puzzles/

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LEGO Building Challenge for Kids: Brain Puzzles - Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls

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LEGO Puzzles for Kids to Design. A great building challenge for kids!

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https://ivyleaguekids.org/stem-at-home-hoop-gliders-craft/

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Montessori classrooms are designed to be carefully prepared environments that support the independence, exploration, and learning of the children who are enrolled in the program. The classrooms are typically divided into different areas, each of which is equipped with materials...

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STEM at Home: Hoop Gliders Craft - Ivy League Kids

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Montessori classrooms are designed to be carefully prepared environments that support the independence, exploration, and learning of the children who are enrolled in the program. The classrooms are typically divided into different areas, each of which is equipped with materials...

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https://teachersareterrific.com/2017/03/index-card-towers.html

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Using one simple material, students build the tallest tower possible.

The famous Index Card tower has become a STEM favorite.

One of the first STEM challenges we ever tried was tower building. The kids loved it so much that I started planning more tower-building events. We have tried towers with many different materials - like spaghetti, toothpicks, and even penny-toting buckets!

One of our all-time favorite towers is the Index Card Tower.

" In this post, for your convenience, you may find Amazon Affiliate links to resources. This means that Amazon will pass on small percentages to me with your purchase of items. This will not create extra costs for you at all! It will help me keep this blog running! "

You will love the Index Card Tower because of 5 simple things!

It uses only one material.

Preparation is super easy.

It works for all ages.

It's highly engaging because it's so competitive.

Clean-up is ridiculously simple.

Let's talk about each of these! Tips and ideas are included.

One Material and Easy Prep

We first used this a few years back with 4th and 5th graders and they quickly showed me how inventively they could fold, bend, and roll the cards. And when I say cards, I mean index cards.

Why index cards? Why not playing cards?

Well, here's the scoop about that! I really thought about using playing cards until I priced them. Even buying them at the dollar store meant 7 boxes per class and with 5 classes per grade level that was too much.

The only way it would work might be if students were told they could not bend the cards or roll them. Take a look at the photos below and you will see index cards in several configurations and that is part of the task. How can you use the cards inventively to make the tower work unless you can fold them?

The Index Card works with all ages!

The tallest towers for the older students were 100+ cm. The very tallest was 120 cm. Incredible! The competition to have the tallest was fierce and the groans from these groups were just as loud as the little kids whenever a tower fell.

A little bit about clean-up and recycling!

When it's time to clean up with this task, I put out about four large dish pans labeled: Unused, Rolled, Bent vertically, Bent horizontally. Kids bring their cards and throw them in the labeled bins.

When the next class comes in I give them a smaller stack of brand-new cards and they retrieve what they need from the already bent and rolled cards as they need them. We completely just keep reusing them! Later I throw all the bent and rolled cards into a large plastic bin, pop a top on it, and save it for the next index card project!

This challenge is surprisingly versatile!

Halloween-small stuffed pumpkin

Thanksgiving- a stuffed turkey

This amazing, versatile STEM Challenge is a student favorite and you will love the easy prep!
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STEM Materials You Need!

Currently My Favorite Reading Items

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The Amazing Index Card Tower - Teachers are Terrific

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The index card tower STEM Challenge is amazingly challenging. The tower topples easily and provides students with many opportunities to rebuild and rethink!

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https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/ice-cream-in-a-bag/

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This easy homemade ice cream in a bag recipe is a must-try this summer! You only need 5 ingredients to make this homemade ice cream. Kids will love seeing how quickly they can make their own ice cream. Don't forget to add your favorite toppings like sprinkles or fruit!

RELATED: Homemade Fresh Fruit Popsicles

How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag

This is such a fun activity for kids in the summer! And if you're low on ice cream in your freezer, it's a great way to make your own treat! Kids can help shake the bags and of course finish off the ice cream.

Ice Cream in a Bag Ingredients

You only need 5 ingredients to make ice cream in a bag:

Half and Half - OR you can use 1/2 whole milk and 1/2 cream. We have also made it with whole milk and it will still turn out but the ice cream won't be as creamy

Salt - the type of salt doesn't matter. We used regular table salt. But the chunkier the salt you use, the less chance you'll get salt mixed into your ice cream by accident.

Ice

Vanilla

Sugar

Yes! You can still make this recipe with whole milk. The ice cream won't be as creamy but will still be tasty. For an even creamier version use cream and whole milk instead. You can experiment with different proportions until you find it to be a texture and flavor you prefer!

How to Prevent Salty Ice Cream

This is important - because there's nothing worse than shaking the bags and then having salty ice cream. You want to make sure that the bags you are using are quality bags. Typically no name brands won't give a good seal to keep the salt out.

Make sure you properly seal the bag that has the half and half mixture in it. You don't want salt accidentally getting into this bag. To be safe, you could double bag this also. Once you're done shaking, rinse off the little bag with cold water (including the top part above the seal) before opening it up to eat the ice cream. This will ensure that any salt on the outside doesn't leak in.

If you use chunkier salt, this will also help prevent the salt from getting into the little bag.

Finally, be extra careful when taking the ice cream out of the bag. If there is any salt still on the outside of the small bag, it will mix with the ice cream.

Your kids will love making their own ice cream! Mix in some chocolate syrup or add your favorite toppings to make it even more delicious!

Summer Treats for Kids
See these other favorite summer treats for kids:
These homemade fruit roll-ups are such a hit with kids!

These fresh fruit popsicles are so delicious and easy to make!

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How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag - The Best Ideas for Kids

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You only need 5 ingredients to make this homemade ice cream in a bag. Kids will love seeing how quickly they can make their own ice cream!

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https://buggyandbuddy.com/science-for-kids-how-to-make-a-kaleidoscope/

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Science for Kids: How to Make a Kaleidoscope - Buggy and Buddy

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Learn how to make a kaleidoscope in this fun STEM/science activity and craft for kids. It's such a fun way to explore light, reflections, and symmetry! Follow our Science for Kids Pinterest board! *This post was originally published 2/2/16 and has since been updated. Last week I made these super fun kaleidoscopes with my ...

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https://lemonlimeadventures.com/build-a-robot-game/

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Are your kids into robots? My kids seem obsessed with friendly, people-like robots. We've gone a little robots crazy recently, with our Squishy Circuits robot, robot design challenge, and scrub brush robot. But still, my kids still beg for more robot fun! This time, I create this fun build a robot game so my preschooler could join in on the robot building fun as well. This activity is designed to get little ones to think about what goes into building a robot and what parts a robot needs to be successful. My preschooler was delighted with the finished robot and couldn't wait to show it off to friends and family.
* This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Click here for my full disclosure.
Build a Robot Game STEM Challenge for Preschool

While I designed this activity with preschoolers in mind, your elementary kiddos will have a blast doing it too. We loved that we could do this together as a family!

What you'll need for the build a robot game:

Aluminium foil

Toilet paper roll

Drinking straws

Googly eyes

Paper

Dice

Glue (we used a low-temp hot glue gun)

Pipe cleaner

Marker

Before starting this game with my preschooler, I did a little set up. I cut some straws into arms and legs and made a face from paper with a marker. I twisted a pipe cleaner into an antenna and wrapped a toilet paper roll with aluminum foil.

I made sure to have six parts for the robot to match the six side of the die.

On a piece of paper, I wrote the code for building the robot. Each number was assigned a different robot part.

When the set-up was complete, I told my preschooler how to play the game.

She rolled the die, then glued the appropriate part to the robot.

We talked about what each part of the robot would do and why the robot would need these parts to work. We also practiced counting during this activity.

My preschoolers was delighted with her new robot friend and couldn't wait to show it to everyone she met that week.

What Kids Learn in the Build a Robot Game

In this game, preschoolers can learn about several concepts. If more than one child is playing, this is a great game for learning to take turns. The game also makes a basis for a solid preschool STEM activity, encouraging kids to think outside the box and figure out what each part of a robot will do and why a robot would need these parts to work properly. We also discussed what jobs a robot can do, and how robots are used in the real world while playing this game.

Looking for more STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) projects and inspiration?

Looking for some more STEAM inspiration that use can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Kids: 50+ Hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math Hands-On Projects for Kids ebook! It's packed full of a year's worth fun learning activities that will wow the boredom right out of your kids.

For More Adventures in Robots, Check Out:

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Build a Robot Game STEM Challenge for Preschool

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are your kids into robots? My kids seem obsessed with friendly, people-like robots. We've gone a little robots crazy recently, with our Squishy Circuits robot, robot design challenge, and scrub brush robot. But still, my kids still beg for more robot fun!

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https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/make-a-lava-lamp

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Summary

Introduction

Have you ever seen a lava lamp? They were the height of 1960's "groovy" room decorations. A few minutes after turning it on, a lava lamp has blobs of colored liquid floating towards the top of the lamp and then drifting back down. Making an actual lava lamp that you plug in would require some effort and unusual supplies, but you can create a non-electric version in just a few minutes with the help of the fizzing power of Alka-Seltzer. In this activity you can find out how to make your own Alka-Seltzer® lava lamp. How will changing the temperature of the ingredients change the behavior of the colorful blobs in your lava lamp?

This activity is not recommended for use as a science fair project. Good science fair projects have a stronger focus on controlling variables, taking accurate measurements, and analyzing data. To find a science fair project that is just right for you, browse our library of over 1,200 Science Fair Project Ideas or use the Topic Selection Wizard to get a personalized project recommendation.

Materials

Tall identical jars or bottles, such as empty, clear, plastic 1-liter or 2-liter bottles (2)

Timer or clock that shows seconds

Vegetable oil (enough to fill the jars nearly full)

An Alka-Seltzer tablet. Only one tablet is needed for the activity, but having additional tablets can be fun if you wanted to repeat lava lamp action.

A way to make one jar hot and one cold, such as by using a large bowl filled with hot water and access to a refrigerator or freezer

Instructions

1. To each jar or bottle, fill it with 1-2 inches of water, add 5 drops of food coloring, and then fill it at least three-quarters full with vegetable oil. Put the cap on tightly to avoid spills and leaks.

2. Somehow make one of the prepared jars be hot and one be cold. For example, to make one hot you could let it sit in a large bowl of hot water, and to make one cold you could store it in a refrigerator or freezer. Be careful when handling hot water.

3. While you are heating and cooling the jars, cut an Alka-Seltzer tablet into quarters. Only two quarter pieces are needed for the activity, but having additional pieces can be fun if you wanted to repeat lava lamp action.

4. Once one jar is hot and one is cold, get a timer or clock ready and drop a quarter of a tablet into the heated jar. Note that the tablet piece may take a moment to sink through the vegetable oil to reach the water, where it will react. Start timing as soon as the tablet piece reaches the water and starts reacting.

How long does it take the tablet to disappear? How vigorous are the bubbles?

5. Now drop a quarter of a tablet in the cold jar. Time how long it takes the tablet to disappear this time.

How long does it take the tablet to disappear in the colder liquid?

6. Think about how the two reactions looked.

Do you notice other differences in how the reaction happens in the colder liquid versus in the hotter liquid? Why do you think you got the results that you did?

Cleanup

When you are done playing with the lava lamps, do not pour them down the drain. That quantity of vegetable oil can lead to clogs in the sewer system. Instead, pour the contents of the lava lamps into a compost pile or dig a hole in your yard, away from any plants you care about, and pour the contents in the hole. If neither of those are an option, simply screw the cap on tightly and throw the lava lamp jar in your regular trash.

What Happened?

The ingredients in Alka-Seltzer combine with water to form a gas called carbon dioxide. The oil and Alka-Seltzer do not combine in this way though. The Alka-Seltzer tablets sink through the vegetable oil until they reach the layer of colored water. There the Alka-Seltzer dissolves in the water and forms a gas called carbon dioxide. The gas is lighter than the water and oil, so it bubbles up, taking a bit of colored water with it as it moves through the oil layer. You should have seen those bubbles, looking like colorful blobs, float through the oil layer to the top of the jar. At the top the bubbles should have burst (releasing the carbon dioxide gas), and then the colorful blobs should have sunk back to the bottom (now without carbon dioxide gas). The effect should have been reminiscent of a lava lamp.

The chemical reaction that causes the carbon dioxide to form happens more quickly in warmer water. For this reason, you should have seen that the Alka-Seltzer tablet dissolved more quickly in the hot water, in approximately 20-30 seconds depending on the temperature. This should have resulted in lots of rapid bubbling and an energetic lava lamp display. In contrast, the Alka-Seltzer tablet in the cold water should have dissolved more slowly, with most of it should disappearing in the first two to three minutes, resulting in a calmer and longer lasting lava lamp effect.

Digging Deeper

Alka-Seltzer is a medical drug that works as a pain reliever and an antacid (antacids help neutralize stomach acidity, such as heartburn). The pain reliever used is aspirin and the antacid used is baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate. To take the tablets, they are fully dissolved in water, where they famously undergo a chemical reaction that produces lots of carbon dioxide bubbles. Why is this? As the tablets dissolve, the sodium bicarbonate splits apart to form sodium and bicarbonate. The bicarbonate reacts with hydrogen (from citric acid, another ingredient in the tablets) to form carbon dioxide gas (and water). This is how the bubbles are made.

How is temperature related to this reaction? For the reaction to occur, the bicarbonate must come into contact with the hydrogen in just the right way. The chance of the bicarbonate and hydrogen doing this is affected by temperature: the higher the temperature, the faster the molecules move; the lower the temperature, the slower they move. The faster they move, the more likely they are to come into contact with each other.

Ask an Expert

For Further Exploration

Test Alka-Seltzer tablets in a wider range of temperatures, and then graph the time it takes a tablet to dissolve in water at each temperature (check with a thermometer). What temperature change is required to increase the reaction time by a factor of two? What about decreasing the reaction time by a factor of two?

Compare whole Alka-Seltzer tablets to pieces of Alka-Seltzer tablets. If there is a greater surface area (i.e., a tablet is broken up into more pieces), does the same amount of tablet result in the reaction happening faster or slower, or in a different way?

Project Ideas

Science Fair Project Idea

Alka-Seltzer® tablets fizzle furiously when dropped into water. The moment the tablet starts dissolving, a chemical reaction occurs that releases carbon dioxide gas. In this science project, you can even measure how long and loudly your tablet fizzes using a smartphone equipped with a sensor app. Do you think you can make Alka-Seltzer fizz faster or more loudly by changing the temperature of the water? How big of a difference in the rate of a chemical reaction can temperature make? Read more

Careers

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Make an Alka-Seltzer Powered Lava Lamp | STEM Activity

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Make a lava lamp while investigating the effect of temperature on chemical reactions.

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https://www.vivifystem.com/blog/2019/3/5/10-stem-family-night-activities

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Planning a STEM or STEAM Family Night? Read on for 10 amazing activities (plus tons of FREEBIES) that will engage the whole family! From painting with robots to creating a paper circuit, these activities will take your STEM Family Night to the next level!

New to STEM Family Nights? Hop over to our planning guide post for more details.

1: Virtual Coloring

Our families LOVED this augmented reality coloring activity using the Quiver app . Students choose a coloring page centered around a STEM topic such as a rocket or parts of a cell. After coloring, they use the free Quiver app, to bring the drawing to life with augmented reality. The app even includes interactive features where students can zoom into drawings, click on different parts to learn more, or play a trivia game.

2: Explore the Universe

Students of all ages are fascinated by the night sky! The Sky View app is a great way to discover planets and satellites in the night sky - even indoors. To direct the learning, we have created a FREE scavenger hunt to allow students to explore planets, stars, and satellites. Using the Sky View app, available for free on Apple and Android tablets, students find the Moon, International Space Station, Hubble Telescope, and the planets in our Solar System. This freebie includes a coloring page and is available in Spanish.

3: Space Lander Engineering Challenge

We adapted one of our favorite classroom STEM challenges, the Space Lander, into the perfect STEM Family Night station. Read more on this popular challenge here. Instead of testing with two jumbo marshmallows, which can create a nasty mess, we use 2 ping pong balls. We also replaced the mini marshmallows with cotton balls. All supplies are bagged into kits that are ready to go for a big event!

4: Tower Building

Everyone loves a good building activity! Challenge students to compete with their parents in building the tallest tower with provided materials. We provide a stack of 100 index cards plus 1 foot of masking tape for each team. Sometimes we set a 10 minute timer, but usually we just let teams build as long as they want. Final towers are measured, and we record top heights on a leaders board for a school-wide competition. You can find more tower challenge ideas and .

5: Forensics Fun

Bring CSI to your STEM Family Night! Reveal a student's heat signature and unique fingerprints through interactive forensics activities! Families use graphite and clear tape to record fingerprints while learning how they are used in forensics. A second part of the station includes a thermal camera for students to explore the infrared world! We recommend the SEEK camera that attaches to an Android tablet or iPad. A thermal camera can be used to reveal a body heat signature as well as explore heat created by friction. We created a free worksheet with all the details in our Vivify resource section.

6: Makey Makey

If you haven't already discovered Makey Makey, stop everything and watch this video! These little circuit boards bring together coding, invention, creativity, and electronics. Just plug into any computer, and with no software download required, watch as your students turn conductive items (PlayDoh, oranges, pencil led) into a controller that replaces a keyboard or mouse! We love using these with from elementary all the way to high school! We created a freebie with activity instructions and a guide to setup 3 different demo stations. You can access the freebie in our Vivify Resources page.

7: Paper Circuits

Paper circuits are a fun way to teach circuits and conductivity. Students use the easy-to-follow diagrams to create their own card that will light up! Materials needed include: paper, copper tape, LED lights, coin batteries, and clear tape. Students can also use markers or crayons to decorate the card. We created a freebie with activity instructions including 2 card templates in both English and Spanish. Check it out in our Vivify Resources page.

8: Stop motion Animation

Combine storytelling with STEM! Setup the scene with a theme or story line such as a mission to Mars and allow families to create a movie using provided props. To create the videos, use iPads, Kindles, or Chromebooks along with a blank backdrop such as trifold boards. Provide each family with a set of action figures or toys. We love using Stikbots! We created a freebie of instructions plus 3 STEM story lines in our Vivify Resources page.

9: Paint with Sphero

Do you have a set of Sphero robots? If not, read more here on the basics of Sphero plus 3 STEM challenges. In previous STEM Family Nights, we created a maze with painter's tape for families to practice driving SPRK robots. This year, we worked with the art teachers to create a robot mural station! Another set of free instruction for the station set-up are found in our Vivify Resources page.

10: Osmo Coding Game

We love Osmo for elementary STEM nights! We use the Numbers and Awbie games as an educational introduction to block coding. Parents love to explore along with their students. We setup 4 iPads with the game loaded, and if the activity becomes popular, we set 10 minute timers. Make sure the game is in a well-lit room, and station volunteers know how to reset after each user.

We hope you find these activities useful in planning your STEM or STEAM Family Night! Best of luck!

Vivify's STEM Family Night Planning Guide

For more information, you can purchase Vivify's all-inclusive planning guide that includes all of our activities, a planning checklist, a complete budget and materials list, editable marketing materials, STEM resource handouts, and more! Now includes a Spanish version of handouts and signs! Check out a preview below. You can also check out our planning guide post for more details.

Tagged: STEM Night, stem activities, STEM Family Night, Quiver App, STEM scavenger hunt, Space Lander Challenge, makey makey, Paper Circuit Card, Stikbots, Sphero, Osmo Coding Game, Osmo, Coding, STEM elementary

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10 Amazing STEM Family Night Activities - Vivify STEM

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Planning a STEM or STEAM Family Night? Read on for 10 amazing activities that will engage the whole family! From painting with robots to creating a paper circuit, these activities will take your STEM Family Night to the next level!

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.vivifystem.com/blog/2019/3/5/10-stem-family-night-activities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Planning a STEM or STEAM Family Night? Read on for 10 amazing activities (plus tons of FREEBIES) that will engage the whole family! From painting with robots to creating a paper circuit, these activities will take your STEM Family Night to the next level!

New to STEM Family Nights? Hop over to our planning guide post for more details.

1: Virtual Coloring

Our families LOVED this augmented reality coloring activity using the Quiver app . Students choose a coloring page centered around a STEM topic such as a rocket or parts of a cell. After coloring, they use the free Quiver app, to bring the drawing to life with augmented reality. The app even includes interactive features where students can zoom into drawings, click on different parts to learn more, or play a trivia game.

2: Explore the Universe

Students of all ages are fascinated by the night sky! The Sky View app is a great way to discover planets and satellites in the night sky - even indoors. To direct the learning, we have created a FREE scavenger hunt to allow students to explore planets, stars, and satellites. Using the Sky View app, available for free on Apple and Android tablets, students find the Moon, International Space Station, Hubble Telescope, and the planets in our Solar System. This freebie includes a coloring page and is available in Spanish.

3: Space Lander Engineering Challenge

We adapted one of our favorite classroom STEM challenges, the Space Lander, into the perfect STEM Family Night station. Read more on this popular challenge here. Instead of testing with two jumbo marshmallows, which can create a nasty mess, we use 2 ping pong balls. We also replaced the mini marshmallows with cotton balls. All supplies are bagged into kits that are ready to go for a big event!

4: Tower Building

Everyone loves a good building activity! Challenge students to compete with their parents in building the tallest tower with provided materials. We provide a stack of 100 index cards plus 1 foot of masking tape for each team. Sometimes we set a 10 minute timer, but usually we just let teams build as long as they want. Final towers are measured, and we record top heights on a leaders board for a school-wide competition. You can find more tower challenge ideas and .

5: Forensics Fun

Bring CSI to your STEM Family Night! Reveal a student's heat signature and unique fingerprints through interactive forensics activities! Families use graphite and clear tape to record fingerprints while learning how they are used in forensics. A second part of the station includes a thermal camera for students to explore the infrared world! We recommend the SEEK camera that attaches to an Android tablet or iPad. A thermal camera can be used to reveal a body heat signature as well as explore heat created by friction. We created a free worksheet with all the details in our Vivify resource section.

6: Makey Makey

If you haven't already discovered Makey Makey, stop everything and watch this video! These little circuit boards bring together coding, invention, creativity, and electronics. Just plug into any computer, and with no software download required, watch as your students turn conductive items (PlayDoh, oranges, pencil led) into a controller that replaces a keyboard or mouse! We love using these with from elementary all the way to high school! We created a freebie with activity instructions and a guide to setup 3 different demo stations. You can access the freebie in our Vivify Resources page.

7: Paper Circuits

Paper circuits are a fun way to teach circuits and conductivity. Students use the easy-to-follow diagrams to create their own card that will light up! Materials needed include: paper, copper tape, LED lights, coin batteries, and clear tape. Students can also use markers or crayons to decorate the card. We created a freebie with activity instructions including 2 card templates in both English and Spanish. Check it out in our Vivify Resources page.

8: Stop motion Animation

Combine storytelling with STEM! Setup the scene with a theme or story line such as a mission to Mars and allow families to create a movie using provided props. To create the videos, use iPads, Kindles, or Chromebooks along with a blank backdrop such as trifold boards. Provide each family with a set of action figures or toys. We love using Stikbots! We created a freebie of instructions plus 3 STEM story lines in our Vivify Resources page.

9: Paint with Sphero

Do you have a set of Sphero robots? If not, read more here on the basics of Sphero plus 3 STEM challenges. In previous STEM Family Nights, we created a maze with painter's tape for families to practice driving SPRK robots. This year, we worked with the art teachers to create a robot mural station! Another set of free instruction for the station set-up are found in our Vivify Resources page.

10: Osmo Coding Game

We love Osmo for elementary STEM nights! We use the Numbers and Awbie games as an educational introduction to block coding. Parents love to explore along with their students. We setup 4 iPads with the game loaded, and if the activity becomes popular, we set 10 minute timers. Make sure the game is in a well-lit room, and station volunteers know how to reset after each user.

We hope you find these activities useful in planning your STEM or STEAM Family Night! Best of luck!

Vivify's STEM Family Night Planning Guide

For more information, you can purchase Vivify's all-inclusive planning guide that includes all of our activities, a planning checklist, a complete budget and materials list, editable marketing materials, STEM resource handouts, and more! Now includes a Spanish version of handouts and signs! Check out a preview below. You can also check out our planning guide post for more details.

Tagged: STEM Night, stem activities, STEM Family Night, Quiver App, STEM scavenger hunt, Space Lander Challenge, makey makey, Paper Circuit Card, Stikbots, Sphero, Osmo Coding Game, Osmo, Coding, STEM elementary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Amazing STEM Family Night Activities - Vivify STEM

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Planning a STEM or STEAM Family Night? Read on for 10 amazing activities that will engage the whole family! From painting with robots to creating a paper circuit, these activities will take your STEM Family Night to the next level!

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.vivifystem.com/blog/2019/3/5/10-stem-family-night-activities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Planning a STEM or STEAM Family Night? Read on for 10 amazing activities (plus tons of FREEBIES) that will engage the whole family! From painting with robots to creating a paper circuit, these activities will take your STEM Family Night to the next level!

New to STEM Family Nights? Hop over to our planning guide post for more details.

1: Virtual Coloring

Our families LOVED this augmented reality coloring activity using the Quiver app . Students choose a coloring page centered around a STEM topic such as a rocket or parts of a cell. After coloring, they use the free Quiver app, to bring the drawing to life with augmented reality. The app even includes interactive features where students can zoom into drawings, click on different parts to learn more, or play a trivia game.

2: Explore the Universe

Students of all ages are fascinated by the night sky! The Sky View app is a great way to discover planets and satellites in the night sky - even indoors. To direct the learning, we have created a FREE scavenger hunt to allow students to explore planets, stars, and satellites. Using the Sky View app, available for free on Apple and Android tablets, students find the Moon, International Space Station, Hubble Telescope, and the planets in our Solar System. This freebie includes a coloring page and is available in Spanish.

3: Space Lander Engineering Challenge

We adapted one of our favorite classroom STEM challenges, the Space Lander, into the perfect STEM Family Night station. Read more on this popular challenge here. Instead of testing with two jumbo marshmallows, which can create a nasty mess, we use 2 ping pong balls. We also replaced the mini marshmallows with cotton balls. All supplies are bagged into kits that are ready to go for a big event!

4: Tower Building

Everyone loves a good building activity! Challenge students to compete with their parents in building the tallest tower with provided materials. We provide a stack of 100 index cards plus 1 foot of masking tape for each team. Sometimes we set a 10 minute timer, but usually we just let teams build as long as they want. Final towers are measured, and we record top heights on a leaders board for a school-wide competition. You can find more tower challenge ideas and .

5: Forensics Fun

Bring CSI to your STEM Family Night! Reveal a student's heat signature and unique fingerprints through interactive forensics activities! Families use graphite and clear tape to record fingerprints while learning how they are used in forensics. A second part of the station includes a thermal camera for students to explore the infrared world! We recommend the SEEK camera that attaches to an Android tablet or iPad. A thermal camera can be used to reveal a body heat signature as well as explore heat created by friction. We created a free worksheet with all the details in our Vivify resource section.

6: Makey Makey

If you haven't already discovered Makey Makey, stop everything and watch this video! These little circuit boards bring together coding, invention, creativity, and electronics. Just plug into any computer, and with no software download required, watch as your students turn conductive items (PlayDoh, oranges, pencil led) into a controller that replaces a keyboard or mouse! We love using these with from elementary all the way to high school! We created a freebie with activity instructions and a guide to setup 3 different demo stations. You can access the freebie in our Vivify Resources page.

7: Paper Circuits

Paper circuits are a fun way to teach circuits and conductivity. Students use the easy-to-follow diagrams to create their own card that will light up! Materials needed include: paper, copper tape, LED lights, coin batteries, and clear tape. Students can also use markers or crayons to decorate the card. We created a freebie with activity instructions including 2 card templates in both English and Spanish. Check it out in our Vivify Resources page.

8: Stop motion Animation

Combine storytelling with STEM! Setup the scene with a theme or story line such as a mission to Mars and allow families to create a movie using provided props. To create the videos, use iPads, Kindles, or Chromebooks along with a blank backdrop such as trifold boards. Provide each family with a set of action figures or toys. We love using Stikbots! We created a freebie of instructions plus 3 STEM story lines in our Vivify Resources page.

9: Paint with Sphero

Do you have a set of Sphero robots? If not, read more here on the basics of Sphero plus 3 STEM challenges. In previous STEM Family Nights, we created a maze with painter's tape for families to practice driving SPRK robots. This year, we worked with the art teachers to create a robot mural station! Another set of free instruction for the station set-up are found in our Vivify Resources page.

10: Osmo Coding Game

We love Osmo for elementary STEM nights! We use the Numbers and Awbie games as an educational introduction to block coding. Parents love to explore along with their students. We setup 4 iPads with the game loaded, and if the activity becomes popular, we set 10 minute timers. Make sure the game is in a well-lit room, and station volunteers know how to reset after each user.

We hope you find these activities useful in planning your STEM or STEAM Family Night! Best of luck!

Vivify's STEM Family Night Planning Guide

For more information, you can purchase Vivify's all-inclusive planning guide that includes all of our activities, a planning checklist, a complete budget and materials list, editable marketing materials, STEM resource handouts, and more! Now includes a Spanish version of handouts and signs! Check out a preview below. You can also check out our planning guide post for more details.

Tagged: STEM Night, stem activities, STEM Family Night, Quiver App, STEM scavenger hunt, Space Lander Challenge, makey makey, Paper Circuit Card, Stikbots, Sphero, Osmo Coding Game, Osmo, Coding, STEM elementary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Amazing STEM Family Night Activities - Vivify STEM

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Planning a STEM or STEAM Family Night? Read on for 10 amazing activities that will engage the whole family! From painting with robots to creating a paper circuit, these activities will take your STEM Family Night to the next level!