Roller coasters are all about physics! Unlike most moving vehicles, cars, trains, and buses that rely on engines, roller coasters rely on gravitational potential energy. What goes up, must come down.

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page:#50: STEAM Challenge: Roller Coaster

2. For this mini spark, you will be building your own roller coaster.  Visit the Instructables website linked below to find templates you can print and cut out.  Or, use your own materials and come up with your own design.  Get creative and don’t forget to take pictures to document your progress.

3. Go to the Instructable website and read the information from the top to the bottom. Record examples of potential and kinetic energy on your recording sheet.

4. On your recording page, make a list of the supplies you will need. If you need help getting supplies talk to your EY coordinator.

5. Print out this template. If you want to used colored paper, talk to your EY coordinator about getting some to use.

6. Complete all of the steps. Take at least 5 pictures of your process.

7. Take a picture and a video of your challenge.

8. Add all of your pictures to your recording sheet. If you would like to make Pic Collage of your challenge that is great.

9. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page and your video with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Art requires creativity and imagination and enhances flexibility, adaptability, productivity, responsibility and innovation – all required skills for a successful career in any field of study.  The ‘A’ in STEAM represents ‘Art’ which includes music.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #49: Intro to Opera

2. Get started with this informational video. Record details from this clip on your recording page. Add in details about  conductor’s role and actions. Explain how he is positioned during the opera.

3.  Watch this video, The Physics of Opera. Record at least 8 vocabulary words and a short definition on your recording page.

4. Answer these questions on your recording sheet.  Rewatch the video if necessary. ****Remind your teacher that the answers to these questions can be found in the STEAM mini spark folder.

• What techniques do opera singers use to project their voices over an orchestra?
• How does the shape and material of an instrument affect its sound?
• Explain the concept of harmonics as described in the video.
• Why is it beneficial for an opera singer to emphasize higher partials? 
• Describe the role of the concert hall in enhancing the sound of opera singers. 
• What factors can influence a singer’s vocal ability as they age?
• How do the vocal techniques differ between a Wagnerian singer and a bel canto singer?

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

Check out the Marvelous World of Opera Badge on the EY website.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #48: Make a Crystal

2.  Watch this video that shows the steps for making a crystal.

3. Gather your materials. Take a picture and add it to your recording page.

• measuring spoon
• colored pencil
• pipe cleaner
• hot water
• food coloring (optional)
• spoon
• Borax (Available at grocery stores in the laundry soap section. Use 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster, not Boraxo soap.)
• a glass or jar

Safety first! Borax can irritate your skin, eyes and lungs, and it can be harmful if you swallow it. Ask a grown-up for help handling borax, and don’t touch your crystal once it’s done

4. Watch the video again and work on your experiment.  Take pictures while you are working and add them to your recording sheet.

5. The following day, take a picture of your crystal and add it to your recording sheet.

6. Read this information and add a summary to your recording sheet.

Understanding Borax Crystals.

Borax is a type of crystal, defined as “a solid with flat sides and a symmetrical shape due to its molecules being arranged in a specific, repeating pattern.” Each crystal exhibits a unique repeating pattern that corresponds to its shape. Crystals can vary in size, but they all share this characteristic structure. Examples of crystals include salt, sugar, and Epsom salts. Salt crystals typically form in a cube shape, while snow crystals display a six-sided design.

How Do Borax Crystals Form?

Hot water can dissolve more borax than cold water. This is because the molecules in heated water spread further apart, allowing more borax to dissolve. When no additional borax can dissolve in the solution, it is considered saturated. As the solution cools, the water molecules come closer together, creating less space for the dissolved borax. This change allows crystals to start forming as the water evaporates and releases the excess borax.

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

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #47: STEAM Challenge: Paper

2. Look over the STEAM challenge.

3. Make a sketch of what your structure will look like and any ideas that you have. Add a picture of your sketch to your recording page.

4. Gather the materials you will need. Ask an adult to help you if necessary.

5.  Take a picture of your supplies before you start. Add the picture to your recording sheet.

6. Take a picture of you final project at add it to your recording sheet. Explain your project,  what you did well on this challenge and where you can improve.

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

K-12 students worldwide are invited to give engineering a try with the annual Engineering Challenge from Science Buddies. Announced every January, the Science Buddies Engineering Challenge lets students use their problem-solving skills to design, build, and test contraptions. The challenges use simple materials and are free for all to participate.

Spark your learning!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #45:Science Buddies Contest

2. Each challenge that science buddies has prepared for you has an introduction video that show the challenge and what you will build. Look at the list below and choose 6 that sound interesting. Add those to your recording sheet.

• 2025 Engineering Challenge-Opens in Jan 2025
• 2024 Rubber Band Car Challenge
• 2023 Ping Pong Pickup Challenge
• 2022 Ball Run Challenge
• 2021 Tallest Tower Challenge
• 2020 Cricket Wicket Knockdown Challenge
• 2019 Volleyball Machine Challenge
• 2018 Ball Launcher Challenge
• 2017 Follow the Flow Challenge
• 2016 Marble Machine Challenge
• 2015 Balloon-Powered Car Challenge

3. Watch each of the videos you picked. For each one,  record the name of the challenge, the materials needed, and summarize the project in one sentence.

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

Check out the Engineering Design Challenge badge at the EY Website if you want build one of the challenges.

Check out the STEAM mini spark #25 to learn about the engineering design process.

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: 44: Tangram Art
2. Watch this intro video. Write the tangram rules and puzzle shapes on your recording page.

3. Try out this a tangram puzzle site with challenges to stretch your thinking.

4. Choose 2 puzzles to solve. Add a picture of your finished puzzles to your recording sheet.

5. Make Tangram art! Choose a tangram animal or shape that you would like to use for an art piece.

6. Supplies needed: Ask your EY teacher for a plastic tangrams set, your choice of crayons, markers, watercolors, or colored pencils, and paper.

7. Watch the teaching video.

8. Share your math mini spark recording page and your art piece with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out the Tangram Badge at the EY website.

4. Record your idea for a tiny story, what materials you would use for your stop motion and your set.

5.  Collect a few materials, add stop motion studio to your ipad, and create a tiny stop motion.

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

Check out the Stop Motion Animation Badge on the EY website.

What inventions need to be invented? How about a bed-Making Machine: A fun machine that automatically makes your bed for you! Maybe a Spaghetti Twirling Fork: A rotating fork that helps you twirl spaghetti perfectly for a delicious meal. In this mini spark you will learn about some new inventions that were launched in 2023.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #42: New Inventions

2. Every year, TIME magazine puts out its list of the year’s best inventions. Some of these help us solve problems. Others make life easier, or more fun. TIME for Kids features 10 of them here.

3. Go to the TIME for Kids webpage dedicated to the best inventions on 2023.

4. Number your recording page from 1-10. Write the name of each invention showcased in the post and a 5 word summary.

5. At the bottom on the page explain which one of the inventions you think is the best?

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

Are you ready for a fun PAPER PLATE building challenge? Grab a paper plate, scissors and tape, and let’s get started! With just these three materials, you can create amazing structures.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #41: STEAM Challenge: Paper Plate

2. Look over your STEAM Challenge:

3. Make a sketch of what your structure will look like and any ideas that you have. Add a picture of your sketch to your recording page.

4. Gather the materials you will need. Ask an adult to help you find a paper plate if necessary.

5.  Take a picture of your supplies before you start. Add the picture to your recording sheet.

6. Take a picture of you final project at add it to your recording sheet. Explain your project,  what you did well on this challenge and where you can improve.

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

Check of the STEAM with Paper Plates Badge at the EY Website.