All posts by lspady

#25: An Eggstronaut Mission-Engineering Design Process Lesson

Full STEAM Ahead, Mini Challenges

How do engineers tackle challenges? They employ the engineering design process to develop the most effective solution. We will guide you through this process step-by-step as we get ready to launch our eggstronaut on an interplanetary journey.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page:#25: An Eggstronaut Mission-Engineering Design Process Lesson

2. Print this engineering design process recording page  or create sections on your recording page for each of the topics on this handout.

3. Learn about the engineering process by watching this video, An Eggstronaut Mission. As the narrator explains each step, pause the video to fill out the form with the information or type each of the steps on your recording page. Hint: When she says the problem you are going to solve write it down, when she says the ways to research, write them down an so on.

4. Watch this video and record how making tacos for a party follows the Engineering Design Process. On your recording page explain the taco making process and how it follows the engineering design process. Use 3-5 sentences.

5. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page and your handout if you printed one with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Use this mini spark as task 2 for the Engineering Design Badge at the EY website.

ASA Statistics Poster Competition

Other Events & Contests

Image taken from https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/15032644782

The American Statistical Association (ASA) is dedicated to and involved in enhancing statistics education at all levels.  Check out their annual Poster Contest for students in grades K-12.

Posters are due each year on April 1.

What is a statistical poster? A statistical poster is a display containing two or more related graphics that summarize a set of data, look at the data from different points of view, and answer specific questions about the data.

Check out additional details/rules and look at the winners from last year by visiting the ASA website.

More Writing Opportunities

Other Events & Contests
Stone Soup
  • Stone Soup welcomes submissions from around the world by writers and artists ages 13 and younger.
  • To get an idea of the kind of work Stone Soup has published in the past, look through our Archive of Children’s Writing.
  • Deadline: Ongoing

For more information, visit: https://stonesoup.com/how-to-submit-writing-and-art-to-stone-soup/

Amazing Kids! Magazine
  • This contest is open to kids ages 7 – 18 with separate age categories (7 – 9, 10 – 11, 12 – 14, and 15 – 18).
  • One winner will be selected in each category to win the choice of either a Solitaire Chess game or FootBubbles along with an official certificate verifying their winning entry and publication in the Amazing Kids! Magazine.
  • All entries are due by October 1.

For more information, visit: http://mag.amazing-kids.org/ak-contests/amazing-kids-adventure-contest-create-an-adventure-story/

Mrs. P’s ‘Be a Famous Writer’ Contest
  • Mrs. P’s 9th Annual “Be-A-Famous-Writer” Contest is open to students in  Kindergarten through 4th grade.  
  • The contest starts October 15, 2017 and the 2017 theme is dragons.
  • To get an idea of the kind of work chosen in the past, visit: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF6D83D5011B3185A
  • Deadline is December 15, 2017 (winners announced January 30, 2018)

For more information, visit: http://contest.mrsp.com/

#24: The Fascinating Physics of Everyday Life

Full STEAM Ahead, Mini Challenges

Physics is the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy.  Learn more about Physics by checking out the following resources.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #7: Binary Code Names

Watch the Fascinating Physics of Everyday Life video.  Answer the questions below by posting a comment and/or try some of the “toys” Dr. Czerski mentions in the video.

  • What is the law of conservation of angular momentum?
  • How does something not touching anything (i.e. Hubble Telescope) know where it is?
  • What are two important things to know about science?

Go to the PHYSICS4KIDS website and learn about one of the topics.  Create a presentation about one of the topics.

Check out Physics for Kids Overview on ducksters.com.  Create 10 trivia questions for your classmates to answer.

 

6. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Metro Omaha Reading Council Writing Contest

Other Events & Contests,
The Metropolitan Reading Council is now taking submissions for their 2017-2018 MRC Writing Contest

Grades K-3 Writing Prompt:  If you could have a super power, what would it be?  Tell why you want this power and what you would do with it.

Grades 4-6 Writing Prompt:  If you had a super power, what would it be?  Why? What would you like to do with that power?  The power can be something you can do (e.g. recite the alphabet backwards, expert on dogs, throw perfect passes, etc.) or something you imagine (e.g. talk to animals, fly, superhuman strength, etc.).  Write a story about how you would use your power.

Stories may have no more than 2500 words

Deadline: December 22, 2017

For more details, visit:

http://www.metroreadingcouncil.org/writing-contest-2017-2018.html

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WOW! That’s Engineering Event Sept 30, 2017

Other Events & Contests, Uncategorized
Who: 6th-10 Grade Girls interested in engineering fields 
When: Saturday, September 30, 2017 – 8:30 AM to 3 PM
Where: College of Saint Mary
7000 Mercy Road
Omaha NE  68106
Cost: FREE!! Pre-registration is required due to limited space.
Parents & Educators are welcome to join us for our Parent & Educator Track!!
Our event is aimed at encouraging young women to pursue careers in Engineering and Technology!
Students will experience:
Mechanical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Systems Engineering
Registration Materials  Click here
Screen Shot 2017-09-14 at 1.12.44 PM

#29: Snapple Facts

Reading Enrichment

Snapple is a brand of juice drinks. The company was founded in 1972 by Leonard Marsh, Hyman Golden, and Arnold Greenberg, who started selling fresh apple juice called Snapple out of the back of Greenberg’s parents’ pickle store in Queens, New York. The name Snapple is a combination of the words “snappy” and “apple”.  This mini spark isn’t really about Snapple. It is about the facts that are printed on the lids.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #29: Snapple Facts

2. Did you know how much a bumblebee bat weighs? Do you know the national animal of Scotland? Record your guesses on your recording sheet and then click the links to find out.

3. Click the arrows at Snapple Facts to explore more facts.

4. Print this recording sheet or use your recording page and record 5 interesting facts that you found.

5. Do some further research on one fact.  Add at least 5 details to your recording page.

6. Finally, display your researched fact on a Pic Collage or other digital tool.

7. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out the Fact Monster Badge at the EY Badge Page.

#36: Minimum Wage

Math Mini Sparks

Minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage an employer can pay an employee. This number is determined by the government, and it is illegal for employers to pay their non-exempt workers anything below the minimum wage. This is very important, because it makes sure that employees do not fall into poverty.

My boys and I recently had a conversation about minimum wage and it got me thinking about my first job.  It was the late 1980’s and I was 13 years old.  I worked at Bishop’s Buffet rolling silverware in napkins and I made a whopping $2.15 an hour!

Spark your math thinking!

  1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #36: Minimum Wage
  2. Go to this site and click around on the map to see some of the current minimum wages in the United States. Record several observations on your recording page.
  3. Look at this site and make a table of Nebraska’s minimum wage from 1968 to present.
  4. Using the same site from #3, compare the minimum wage for several states. Make a table and then transfer it to a graph. Use this online graphing tool or another graphing tool of your choice.
  5. Read about Nebraska’s minimum wage at this site. What kinds of jobs offer minimum wage?  Is $12.00 an hour sufficient?
  6. Ask a parent, grandparent, or other adult what their first job was and how much they made per hour.
  7. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Truckin’ Through Nebraska: A Mobile Children’s Museum

Other Events & Contests

In honor of the 150th anniversary of Nebraska’s statehood, a mobile Children’s Museum has been on the move throughout our state and they’re coming to a stop near us very soon!
mobileMuseum

Check out https://ne150.org/museum/ for more information.

Friday, September 22 from 3-7pm:  K Street in front of the State Capital in Lincoln

Saturday-Sunday, September 23-24:  Canopy & R Street in front of the Pinnacle Bank

  • Saturday 10am – 5pm
  • Sunday 1-5pm