Category Archives: Full STEAM Ahead

#40: STEAM Career Collection

Full STEAM Ahead

November 8th is national STEAM day!

STEAM Day is an opportunity to focus on helping kids advance in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Celebrate STEAM any day of the year by learning about careers that fall under each letter.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #40: STEAM Career Collection

2. Get your STEAM carrer collection page. You can print a copy of this recording page or make a digital copy

3. Go to this website and read about the different careers. Write each title in the chart under the correct letter.

4. On your sheet, put a start next to any that sound interesting.

5. After choosing careers to summarize, read the next three paragraphs at the website, answer these questions on your recording page.

  • Why have the arts been underemphasized in favor of an education focused on math and science?
  • How can a STEAM education translate to career success?
  • What do we lose as a society when we don’t acknowledge the importance of arts in education?

6. OPTIONAL. Do some more research to find other jobs not listed. Not sure what category the careers that you find fall under? That happens because all of the parts of STEAM are connected and work together! You choose where you put the other careers you find.

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

Check out the My Future is so Bright I Gotta Wear Shades Badge at the EY website.

#39: Tallest Buildings

Full STEAM Ahead

As of 2024, the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai! Many buildings have held the title of “world’s tallest building” over the years. For example, the Lincoln Cathedral in England, the Empire State Building, and the original World Trade Center, both in New York City, were once the tallest. It’s exciting to think about how buildings can be so tall and amazing!

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #39: Tallest Buildings

2. How tall is the tallest building you have seen? Read this information about the tallest buildings in the world. Make a chart on your recording page and record details about the the 5 tallest buildings.

3. How do you go about building a tall building? Watch this video to learn more.

4. So how can we build such a high building without it toppling over? Those clever engineers came up with an amazing design. Explain it with words or pictures on your recording page.

5. The world’s tallest building has some amazing stats. Create a visual displaying them. Add it to your recording page.

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

#38: STEAM Challenge: Cardboard Tubes

Full STEAM Ahead

Are you ready for a fun paper tube building challenge?  With just a few materials, you can create a cotton ball launcher.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #38: STEAM Challenge: Cardboard Tubes

2. Watch this video. On your recording page write about what will be easy about the STEAM mini spark and what will be more challenging.

 

3. Read this step by step instructions on how to build the launcher. On your recording page explain if you liked the video instructions or the written instructions.

4. Collect your Materials. Ask the EY coordinator at your building for help getting supplies if needed.

  • Short pencil or popsicle stick
  • Thin rubber bands (2)
  • Cardboard tube (2 empty toilet paper tubes or empty paper towel tube cut in half)
  • Packing tape or other strong tape
  • Scissors
  • Cotton balls
  • Single hole punch

 

5. Take pictures of your supplies and add it to your recording page.

6. Use the video or teaching page from steps 2 and 3 as a guide and start building. Make sure to take pictures of your progress.

6. Test it out! If you need to make modifications, do so at this time.

7. Read this information. In this activity, you used two types of energy to load and launch your cotton ball. As you drew back on the pencil with the cotton ball loaded, you added potential energy to the system. The farther you pulled back on the pencil, the more potential energy was being stored. When you released the pencil, the potential energy became kinetic energy, and the cotton ball should have gone flying through the air!

8. Make a pic collage with the pictures from your project. Include the energy terms, information from step 7,  and definitions.

9. Add your pic collage to your recording page

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

Source: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/cotton-ball-launcher#instruction

#37: International Dot Day

Full STEAM Ahead, Learning Opportunities, Uncategorized

International Dot Day is on September 15th. There are so many ways to celebrate that dot 365 days a year!  A dot might be small, but it’s a powerful way to show your unique individuality and creativity.

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #37: International Dot Day

2. Get started exploring the dot by watching “The Dot” by Peter H. Reynolds. What is the message of the book? Record your answer on your recording page. Use at least 3 sentences.

3. Go to wonderopolis and read about how this day is celebrated in classrooms. Take the did you get it quiz and add your score to your recording page.

4. Listen to the song, the Dot. What things do you do to encourage others, show persistence, and spread positivity.  Write 3-4 sentences about this on your recording page.

5. Timed Creative Challenge. Have an adult or a friend print this challenge sheet you.  Don’t look at the challenge until you are ready to get started. You need a pencil or colored pencils and a timer set to 3 minutes. Turn the challenge over and read the directions. Start your timer. When you are done add a picture of your drawings to your recording sheet.

OPTIONAL STEPS

6. Create a dot on a piece of paper. You can use markers, crayons, paint, or colored pencils.

Chatterpix Dot Day.gif

7. Animate your dot. Use the app Chatterpix Kids. Launch Chatterpix Kids. Snap a photo of your art, then add a talking mouth. You now have 30 seconds of recording time to talk about your dot!

8. Save the Chatterpix Kids video onto your camera roll, then share it with your teacher.

9. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page, your dot challenge and your Chatterpix with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out the Dot badge on the EY Website.

 

 

 

 

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#36: Draw a 3D Art

Full STEAM Ahead, Learning Opportunities

Learn how to draw a 3D ladder and chair. These are  optical illusions from Trick Art for Kids by artist Jon Harris.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #36: Draw a 3D Art

2.  Learn how to draw a 3D ladder.

3. Gather you materials. Materials used: cardstock, Grey Bic Marking Pen (any gray marker will work), Black Sharpie Pen, toy car. Take a picture of your materials and add them to your recording sheet.

4. On your recording page, write about what is going to be hard about this art and what is going to be easier, in your opinion.

5. Using the video as a guide, make the ladder.

6.  Recreate the optical illusion of  cars driving under the ladder. Capture your work with your ipad camera.

7. Create this image as well.

8. Capture your work with your ipad camera.

9. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page and your two art pieces. with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Image from Artist Howard Lee.
Image from Artist Howard Lee.
Image from Artist Howard Lee.

 

 

 

#35: Olympic Medal Designer

Full STEAM Ahead, Mini Challenges

Every two years, a selection committee creates the medals that symbolize triumph at that year’s Olympic Games. They must adhere to certain guidelines while also having the creative freedom to design medals that reflect the true essence of the Olympics.

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #35: Olympic Medal Designer

2. Watch this video and record 5 ideas about the process of creating medals for the Olympics hosted in Japan on your recording sheet.

3. View the history of Olympic Medals.  Pick 3 different years and compare the medals from those years (designer, composition, diameter, and mint).  Display your findings in a creative manner and add a picture to your recording sheet.

4. Imagine you are part of the Olympic Medal Design committee! Design your own Olympic medal that pays tribute to the world’s top athletes in a distinctive manner. Answer these questions on your recording sheet

  • Which Olympic Games will your medal represent — an upcoming event or a fictional one?
  • Will you concentrate on the Summer or Winter Olympics?
  • Will you maintain the classic design features on one side of your medal, or will you opt for innovative concepts?
  • What figures, locations, or symbols will you choose to celebrate on the front of your medal?

5. Do some planning and research. Add ideas to your recording sheet

6. Design your medal on paper or digitally. Add a picture of your design to your recording page.

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

Idea adapted from https://kid-museum.org/maker-playground/olympic-medals/

#34: Animal Robots

Full STEAM Ahead, Uncategorized,

While the word “robot” can conjure up an image of a cyborg human with lights for eyes and super powers, animal-inspired robots are accomplishing tasks in all kinds of medical, military and rescue work. These anibots perform tasks that would be difficult and often dangerous for mere mortals, or even human droids, to accomplish

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #34: Animal Robots

2.   Pneupard is a robot that is designed to be agile and fast like cheetahs and other cats. Pneupard has artificial muscles made from rubber tubing that are covered in nylon and filled with air. The pneumatic muscles have lifelike skills that allow the bot to replicate the range of motion and strength of a real cat!

3. On your recording sheet define Pneupard.

4. Watch this video about Pneupard. Record 5 details from the video on your recording page.

5. Answer the following questions.

  • How are these engineers using robots to learn about nature?
  • Why are cheetah’s ultra complex to recreate?
  • What did the engineers learn when the were in the park
  • What animal would you choose to recreate as a robot? What part or parts of this animal would be ultra complex to recreate?

6. One modern robot flier is called ornithopter. Ornithopter looks and flies much like a real bird. One sweet little ornithopter is used as a nano-spybot, equipped with a tiny camera.

7. On your recording sheet define ornithopter.

8. Watch this video about Ornithopter and write a summary of the video on your recording page.

9. On your recording page, answer these questions.

  • What materials are used to make this robot?
  • What other material come to mind that might work?
  • Have you ever seen a servo motor? If not where else might it be used? If you have seen one, what was its purpose?
  • What is visually interesting to you about this robot? What woud you change?

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

#33: I Have a Dream

Full STEAM Ahead, Mini Challenges

“I Have a Dream” is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States.

To celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , this post is challenging you to dream as well.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page:#33: I Have a Dream

2.  There are three art choices for this mini spark. Make an I have a dream image, mobile, or vision board. Read about each one below. On your recording page write a short summary for each.

3. Decide which one you will do and gather your supplies.

_________________________________________

Cloud Template link

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

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

#32: Make Snowflakes

Full STEAM Ahead, Mini Challenges

Snowflakes are created in clouds when water droplets freeze around tiny particles in the air. These particles can be things like dust, pollen, smog, or soot. This process is known as nucleation. Water droplets need something to stick to in order to freeze, so they usually freeze around these small airborne particles.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #32: Make Snowflakes

2. For each of the facts below, write the question and a summary of the information on your recording page.

Did you know that snowflakes come in all sizes?

The average snowflake ranges from a size slightly smaller than a penny to the width of a human hair. But according to some unverified sources they can grow much larger. Witnesses of a snowstorm in Fort Keogh, Montana in 1887 claimed to see milk-pan sized crystals fall from the sky. If true that would make them the largest snowflakes ever spotted, at around 15 inches wide.

Did you know that snow falls at 1 to 6 feet per second?

At least in the case of snowflakes with broad structures, which act as parachutes. Snow that falls in the form of pellets travels to Earth at a much faster rate.

Did you know that a little water can add up to a lot of snow?

The air doesn’t need to be super moist to produce impressive amounts of snow. Unlike plain rainfall, a bank of fluffy snow contains lots of air that adds to its bulk. That’s why what would have been an inch of rain in the summer equals about 10 inches of snow in the colder months.

Did you know that the snowiest city on Earth is in Japan?

Aomori City in northern Japan receives more snowfall than any major city on the planet. Each year citizens are pummeled with 312 inches, or about 26 feet, of snow on average.

Finally, did you know that snowflakes aren’t always unique?

Snow crystals usually form unique patterns, but there’s at least one instance of identical snowflakes in the record books. In 1988, two snowflakes collected from a Wisconsin storm were confirmed to be twins at an atmospheric research center in Colorado.

3. Now that you’ve learned all kinds of facts about snow, let’s use the “A” in “STEAM” to make some snowflakes! Watch the video tutorial below and make your own!

4. Add a picture of your snowflake to your recording page.

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

Check out the Story of Snow badge at the EY website.

Check out the science mini spark Snowflakes

#31: Make Water Glass Music

Full STEAM Ahead, Mini Challenges

Musical glasses are a fun way to combine art, math, music and science.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #31: Make Water Glass Music

2. Gather the materials you need. Take a picture and add it to your recording page.

8 identical water glasses

water

a set of measuring cups

food coloring (optional)

1 plastic spoon

1 sheet of paper

Tape

pen/pencil

3. As you create this experiment. Take pictures of all of your steps.

Steps

  1. Use a measuring cup to fill each of the glasses with the correct amount of water. Use the image below as a guide.
  2. For fun, you can add a drop of food coloring to your glasses or two drops to make green, orange, or purple.

3.  Label your glasses.  Use the image below as a guide.

4. With a plastic spoon, gently tap each glass and listen for the sound it makes.

5. Notice which glass makes a lower sound and a higher sound.

6. Try playing these simple songs or create your own. Take a video of a song.

4.  The science of sound is all about vibrations. When you hit the glass with the spoon, the glass vibrates, and it’s these vibrations that ultimately make the sound. You discovered that tapping an empty glass produced a higher-pitched sound than tapping a bottle full of water did. Adding water to the bottle dampens the vibrations created by striking the glass with a spoon. The less water in the bottle, the faster the glass vibrates and the higher the pitch. The more water you add to the bottle, the slower the glass vibrates, creating a lower pitch.

5. On your recording page, write about what you learned from this mini spark.

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

Activity adapted from Musical Water Glasses at https://www.connectionsacademy.com/resources/instructographics/music-water-glasses and https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/pop-bottle-sounds/