STEM Children

Little learners have such a wide-open curiosity about the world, you may have caught yourself wishing you understood more about the science of clouds or bridge engineering or botany yourself—just to explain things.

Despite the ravenous interest so many little ones have in STEM topics (science, technology, engineering, and math), that enthusiasm tends to fade as they get older. STEM activities need to be introduced early on because in today’s age of information, the ability to innovate, be technologically fluent, and understand how and why things work together is incredibly important.

These simple STEM projects for kids will help reinforce significant life skills and help to potentially spark a lifetime interest in this crucial field.

1. Magnetic Slime

Homemade “slime” activities are a staple for many parents and educators looking for a fun tactile activity. This variant adds a splash of science by adding iron oxide powder and magnets into the mix. Getting the slime consistency right can be a little tricky, but most issues can be resolved with either adding more glue or more liquid starch. Once the starch is ready, you’ll need a strong neodymium magnet (or more) to start manipulating the slime.

This activity is an excellent conversation starter, as kids are sure to have a lot of questions about how magnets work—so don’t forget to brush up on the subject yourself before getting started!

We recommend this article: How to Get Kids Interested in STEM

2. Sticky Note Number Match

With a sheet of paper taped to the wall, some sticky notes and a marker, you can set up this movement-oriented math activity to help kids understand the meaning of numeric values. Instead of memorizing lists of numbers, this “game” lets kids hunt for sticky note numbers and stick them on the wall over the grouping of dots (or stars or banana stickers, if you like) that matches the number.

3. Building a Hand Crank Winch

This STEM project is perfect for those kids who love to get crafty and learn how things work. The concept of the winch is a perfect way to build an early sense of how people can build awesome things with simple machines like pulleys.

Little ones will probably need your help constructing the winch—but with tools like cardboard paper towel rolls and a spool of ribbon, the parts are all kid-friendly (and inexpensive).

4. Stop-Motion Animation Video

Here’s an excellent option for creative STEM learning. We’ve all seen the fun stop-motion videos online, but you probably never thought of creating one yourself or, better yet, with your kids. With just a few objects, a smartphone or iPad® and a stop-motion app, your kids can learn about the technology behind movie-making and create a video unique to their own likes and interests.

The walking, dancing, coding companion! Marty the Robot V2

5. Oil Spill

Why not try an activity that will connect back to real issues? In this activity, you simply mix oil and water in a large container and add a few feathers to the mix. Then pass out materials like sponges, paper towels or little spoons and instruct the children to try to remove the oil from the water and feathers.

Have the kids try to remove the oil without removing too much water. You can use this activity to show how oil spills can affect the environment, letting them observe how the oil affected the feathers and how difficult it was to remove it from the water. The basic elements of this activity (mixing oil and water) make it easy for the learning level to be scaled up or down depending on the child’s age—oil can obviously be messy, so use your discretion with younger learners.

6. Jellybean Building

All you’ll need is a pile of jellybeans (or large marshmallows) and toothpicks for your student or child to start learning about structures. By connecting toothpicks with jellybeans, encourage your child to see which shapes hold together well, which shapes stack well and which shapes are most interesting to look at.

This activity can help them start to understand the thought, design, and technology behind structural engineering. Try challenging them to create a house or a specific structure—it’s a blast to see them considering their options as they build.

STEM projects for kids that fit development

Now that you have some simple and inexpensive STEM activities for kids, you are well-equipped to help your little ones explore the exciting foundations of science, technology, engineering, and math.

There are tons of STEM activities for all ages. When you know more about the way young children learn, you might have the inspiration to create a few activities of your own!

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