Category Archives: Full STEAM Ahead
Tallest Buildings in the World
How tall is the tallest building you have seen? Read this information about the tallest buildings in the world .
10 Tallest Buildings in the World
How do you go about building a tall building?
Watch this video to learn more.
Your turn:
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.
The world’s tallest building has some amazing stats. Create a visual displaying them.
Create a learning page to go along with one of the building from https://mocomi.com/tallest-buildings-in-the-world/
Cotton Ball Launcher
Study potential and kinetic energy while building a fun launcher!
Collect your Materials
- 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
Use the video as a guide and start building. Make sure to take pictures of your progress. If you want step by step picture instructions use this link.
Test it out!
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!
Make a pic collage with the pictures from your project. Include the energy terms and definitions as well.
Source: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/cotton-ball-launcher#instructions
International Dot Day
Do you know what comes around every Sept. 15?
International Dot Day???
Get started exploring the dot by watching “The Dot” by Peter H. Reynolds.
There are so many ways to celebrate that dot! A dot might be small, but it’s a powerful way to show your unique individuality and creativity.
Timed Creative Challenge
Don’t look at the challenge until you are ready to get started. Have an adult or a friend print this it off for you. You need a pencil or colored pencils and a timer set to 3 minutes.
Timed Creative Challenge Sheet
Dot book study guide and writing projects
This guide has discussion questions and writing prompts for you to try!
Dot Engineering
Design and create a structure with simple materials.
Dot Art
Learn about pointillism using this art mini lesson.
Dot Birthdays
You will research famous people who have made their mark on our world with this dot activity.
Do you want to earn the Dot Badge?
Check out the Dot badge Recording Sheet.
–
How to Draw a 3D Ladder
Check out this
How to draw a 3D ladder optical illusion.
Trick art for kids by artist Jon Harris.
Materials used: cardstock, Grey Bic Marking Pen, Black Sharpie Pen, toy cars.
1. Using the video as a guide, make the ladder.
2. Recreate the optical illusion of cars driving under the ladder. Capture your work with your ipad camera.
3. Share it with your teacher.
It’s Not too Early to Start Thinking about Your CAREER
When you think of STEM careers, do you think of high-tech, coding positions that involve nothing more than sitting behind a screen all day? The reality is there are many widely diverse options for a variety of interests.
The STEM job market not only offers countless opportunities but also allows your creativity to flourish. As a bonus, the jobs in STEM and STEM-related careers are projected to grow faster than all other occupations over the next decade.
So, what are some of the top STEM careers to consider if you are interested in science, technology, engineering, and math? The writers at SPHERO have compiled a STEM careers list for kids interested in STEM broken down by each discipline. Let’s dive in!
Top STEM Careers
Science
- Dentist – Looking for a STEM career that shines brightly? Between 2018 and 2028 The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 7.6% employment growth for dentists which makes this career path not only promising but a sure reason to smile.
- Physician Assistant – In this STEM career path physician assistants work under a doctor to care for their patients. With 37,000 projected jobs by 2028, this profession paves the perfect STEM path within the medical field.
- Orthodontist – Perfecting your teeth has never been more desirable. In this science-based STEM career, orthodontists work to create million-dollar smiles. With a median salary of $208,000, this career is much more than just awkward teenage braces.
- Biomedical engineering – Want to mix your kid’s love of science and engineering? If this is the case, biomedical engineering is the perfect STEM career. In combining these two disciplines you will create crazy cool software, devices, and computer systems that aid in the medical field.
- Chemical engineering – Take your love of chemistry to the next level with a career in chemical engineering. This STEM profession has a wide variety of opportunities from working alongside a chemist to creating more sustainable energy solutions. This career can be formulated to mix to any chemist’s strengths!
- Atmospheric scientist (Storm Tracker) – Looking for a striking STEM career? Atmospheric scientists might just be your perfect STEM storm. In this career, you will study the scientific aspects of the Earth’s climate and weather patterns. From weather stations to laboratories, this job just like our storm systems is always on the move.
- Volcanologist – Yes, this is a real job, and is sure to make a boom! A volcanologist might not have been your first thought into STEM, but how cool would it be to research volcanoes all day? Added plus, most volcanologists travel to locations to study their volcano samples, it doesn’t get much more explosive and exciting than that.
Technology
- Software developer – If computers and technology are your kid’s cup of tea, maybe it’s time to consider a career as a software developer. This STEM career path puts your coding and debugging skills to the test as you work to design and perfect various applications. Innovation and creativity are key here, but love for STEM is a bonus.
- Data management – Now, let’s talk data! Data is so important. It’s so important that other careers, like a software developer, wouldn’t function without it. A career in data management involves problem solving, logic, and being able to oversee a database. Similar to PB&J, a passion for technology and data are the perfect pair.
- Robotics Engineer – We may be a little biased, but working with robots might be one of the coolest STEM career paths. As a robotics engineer, you will ideate, design, test, and build bots that serve a wide variety of purposes. Who knows, with hard work and a love for STEM your kid could be the next great Sphero robotics engineer!
- Cybersecurity analyst – The cybersecurity industry is constantly changing and always creating new online obstacles. A cybersecurity analyst makes sure that there are no online threats that could potentially breach any business. This STEM job is in high demand and could be an ideal career path.
Engineering
- Aerospace engineer- In this STEM career, the sky’s the limit! Literally. From Earth to Mars aerospace engineers design aircraft, spacecraft, and satellites. If you are searching for a STEM career that is out of this world, this might just be the career path to follow.
- Industrial engineer – This type of engineer is responsible for designing and changing how other processes are done to increase safety and productivity. It is one of the fastest-growing types of engineering and is STEMtacular!
- Gaming engineer – Level up with a career as a gaming engineer. This career can take your passion for gaming to new heights. Now, think of your kid’s favorite video game. Odds are a gaming engineer who created and developed it. If gaming and STEM are your child’s passion, this job may be a great fit.
- Music recording engineer – Hit a high note in your STEM career as a music recording engineer. These engineers set up and operate recording equipment and are also responsible for modifying and producing music.
Math
- Statistician – Numbers are the focus of this STEM career path. As a statistician, you will interpret data and draw conclusions. This could be the perfect STEM job solution if you’re great at crunching numbers.
- Mathematician – A mathematician is never “average” (math pun). This STEM career is an amazing choice for all math lovers. In this profession, you have the opportunity to extend your math knowledge into many different fields. This job works parallel with STEM and angles toward a bright future.
The list of careers and interesting, fun jobs in STEM goes on and on. These are just a handful, and we know all the future creators and makers have so much to offer when moving into the professional world.
Make a list of your top 5 careers from this list
Animal Robots
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
Learn about these 3 types of animal robots
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 abilities that allow the bot to replicate the range of motion and strength of a real cat!
Watch this video about Pneupard and create a visual answering the questions below.
- 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?
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.
Watch this video about Ornithopter and answer the questions create a visual answering the questions below.
- 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?
Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by creating an “I Have A Dream” mobile
“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.
Materials you’ll need:
- Scissors
- drawing paper
- hole punch
- string
- hanger
- tape
- You will need 5 clouds, either drawn by you or you can print one from this link.
Directions:
- On each cloud, draw a dream you have for your family, school, community, country, or world.
- Write a caption under each drawing.
- On the back of each cloud, write one thing you can do to make your dream a reality.
- Hole punch the top of your cloud.
- Tie a string to each cloud.
- Hang each cloud from your hanger.
- Cut out and attach with tape two larger clouds to cover each side of the hanger and write I Have A Dream on the front.
Challenge: Figure out a way to make your mobile move!
Either bring your creation to school to show your EY Coordinator, or take a picture of your creation and email to your EY Coordinator.
Facts about snow, then make your own snowflake!
FACTS ABOUT SNOW!
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.
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 then try to make your own!
Make a Water Glass Xylophone
Musical glasses are a fun way to combine art, math, music and science.
Gather the materials you need:
8 identical water glasses
water
a set of measuring cups
food coloring (optional)
1 plastic spoon
1 sheet of paper
Tape
pen/pencil
As you create this experiment. Take pictures of all of your steps.
Steps:
- Use a measuring cup to fill each of the glasses with the correct amount of water. Use the image below as a guide.
- 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.
7. What else can you do with musical water glasses? Respond to this post with your ideas.
The SCIENCE behind the music
The science of sound is all about vibrations. When you hit the bottle with the spoon, the glass vibrates, and it’s these vibrations that ultimately make the sound. You discovered that tapping an empty bottle 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.
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/