STEAM CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR NURSERY AND PRIMARY

SCHOOL

Compiled and Edited by

CHANGEGEAR EDU. TEAM

©2019 All rights reserved.

STEAM LEARNING ACTIVITIES ADAPTED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES…

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SOME MATERIALS NEEDED IN THE STEAM DISCIPLINE AREAS

SCIENCE
1) Magnets Magnet Wands, Fridge Activity Magnets,

Magnadoodles, Hm Magnet Bottles (Grits And Metal Objects In

Bottle)

2) Optics Binoculars, Toddler Microscope, Magnifying Glass,

Flashlight, Mirror, Bug Eyes, Color Paddles, Optical Explorers

From Constructive Play Things. Books- “Mouse Paint”, “A Color Of

His Own”

3) Other Static Electricity Bottle, Scales, Measuring Cups,

Sorting And Classifying, Simple Machines (Gears, Levers And

Pulleys, Inclined Plane)

TECHNOLOGY
Technology Is More Than Computers, Smartphones, And Other Devices. Technology

Is Anything That Has Been Created By Humans. Crayons, Paints, Paper, Scissors,

Markers, Dough, Cardboard, Blocks, Etc. Should Be The Technological Focus For Infant And

Toddler Programs. Blocks And Block Play Can Help Children Develop The Fine And Gross

Motor Skills They Need To Use Technological Devices In Later Years.

Offer Opportunities For Children To Cut Out Different Shapes, Starting Simple And Working Up

To More Complex Shapes. Remember That Very Young Children May Need Many Months To Master

Scissor Technology!

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ENGINEERING-

1) BLOCKS/BUILDING TOYS – Unit, Magnetic (Tegu), Baby Tree Blocks, Plastic/Rubber Blocks, Duplos

2) RAMPS- Add In Balls And Cars- They Will Do The Rest.

3) FOUND OBJECTS- Empty Containers, Especially Clear Or Transparent Ones With Lids;

Paper Towel/Toilet Paper Tubes; Interesting Objects That Meet Safety Requirements Time.

Use Empty Yogurt Containers With Lids As Paint Containers. When The Paint Is Gone, Just Throw The

Containers Away. Five Oz. Dixie Cups Also Work.

Toddlers Love Using Paintbrushes, But They May Also Enjoy Painting With Such Things As Spoons, Large

Feathers, Small Tree Branches (Fresh Leaves), Dish Brushes And Sponges.

Tape Three Or Four Regular Crayons Together To Make A Crayon Just The Right Size For A Toddler's Hand.

Cover A Table With Butcher Paper And Let Children Draw Or Paint All Over It.

Invite Your Toddlers To Stand Up While Drawing Or Finger Painting. This Allows Them To Involve Their Arms

And Bodies In The Process. Be Sure To Give Your Child Plenty Of Space For Moving Around.

ART

Have each child select one item on a nature walk—like a leaf, rock, or other small object—

and draw the item when back indoors. Encourage students to notice the shape, texture, colors,

and weight of the object, noting fine detail if possible. Keep a journal throughout the year to

save these observations.

Ultimate art paper is a great purchase because kids can use it for drawing, painting and collages. a
large supply of construction paper, and a stash of tissue paper for special projects.

 Googly eyes – Can you ever have too many?

 Pom poms – Not just for crafts!
 Craft sticks –
 Glitter
 Play dough – Does play doh count as a craft item? It’s certainly a tool for creativity, so we’ll go

with it.

Creativity - ability express themselves fully and in creative ways.

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Mathematics
1) Number And Operations

 Give Children Lots Of Practice Counting- Count As Often As You Can. Avoid counting in abstract..let the
count the number of fan blades, the tryres in a car, chairs in the class and so on.

Count Out Napkins, Plates, Cups. Do We Need More? Does

Everyone Have The Same Amount?

 Counting Cards Made With Stickers For Individual/Group Counting

Practice- Use Stickers That Match Season, Holiday, And Theme.

 Counting Cards Can Be Used For One-To-One Correspondence. Match Extra

Large Erasers Or Jumbo Counters To Similar Stickers.

 Play Number Games Such As “One Hand, Two Hands, Zero Hands”
 Give The Children Lots Of Things To Sort (By One Attribute- Color, Shape, Size,

Etc.; Then Progress To 2 Or More)

 Practice Putting Things In Order & Talk About “First, Second, Third, Last”
 Have A Line Leader And A Line Ender (1st And Last)
 Say “Zero” At The End Of Song/Poem (Zero Monkeys Jumping On The Bed, Zero

Green And Speckled Frogs, Etc) Instead Of “No” Or “None”

 Pretend Pizza In Kitchen Center For Fraction Practice; Part And Whole
 Play Food That Velcroes Together (How Many Pieces?)

Sing & Read Number Songs

 Number Bottles/Tubs
 Peg Boards Are An Example Of One-To-One Correspondence; So Are Puzzles

2) Patterns

 Listening Games
 Same/Different Noises- Make Them Out Of Sight
 Clapping Games- Repeat The Pattern
 Calendar Patterns (Abab, Aabaab,Abbaabba, Aabbaabb) If Calendar Is Used
 Pattern Children According To Shirt Colour/ Eye Colour/ Hair Colour Or

Gender; Take Pictures To Show Them (If Allowed)

 Pattern Cards Made With Stickers Similar To Counting Cards

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  Read Lots Of Stories And Poems With Predictive Or Repetitive Text
 Pattern Snack Food (Chocolate Teddy Grahams, Then Oatmeal Teddies)

3) Geometry And Spatial Sense

 Sing & Read Shapes- Frog Street Press

 Make Shape Bottles/Tubs
 Magnetic Shapes

Plant Seeds And Measure Plant Growth

(5) Classification And Data Collection

 Remember, Start With One Attribute To Sort By Or Match With;

Increase The Complexity As The Year Goes On.

 Clipboard Math- A Clipboard With 2-3 Picture Choices Representing Things

To Graph By.

 Find Something To Graph Every Day During Group Time. Make A List Of

Questions And Let Someone Choose One From The Stack. (For Twos And Up)

 Have A Graph Listing Children’s Age Range. Punch A Hole Under The Numbers And Give Each Child A Link
To Hang Under The Number That Represents Their Age. On A Child’s Birthday, They Get To Move
Their Link!
 Have A Star Student Of The Week Or Month And Collect Data On Them. Make A Poster About Them.
 Keep A Basket Of Socks Or Gloves For Sorting/Matching.

Sort everyday materials—like toys, rocks, leaves, seashells, shoes, or snacks—according to

different features, such as size, texture, color, pattern, and weight. Introduce descriptive words

like big, round, rough, small, shallow, flat, crooked, and heavy.

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STEAM curriculum Guide
1-2 Years

Water/Sand/Sensory Play

Important Things To Remember About Sensory Play

1. Sensory Tables Can Be:

Water Table Sand Table

Dish Pan Shallow Box

Ziploc Bags Shoe & Sweater Boxes

Cake Pans Disposable Foil Pans

Plastic Bottles Shallow Bowl

Deep High Chair Tray With Small Amount Of Water (For

Toddlers)

2. Vary The Water:

Warm Water , Ice Water

Ice Colored Water (Tub Tints)

Scented Water Soapy Water

3. Vary The Activity:

Wash Baby Dolls/Doll Clothes

Washcloths

Play Dishes

Play Food

Real Food (With Dish Brushes)

Large Rocks (With A Scrub Br Ush)

Big Shells

Theme Related Items- Fish, Aquarium Rocks & Plants; Corn

Cob Litter & Dinos Or Spacemen; Pumpkins, Acorns, Fall

Leaves; Dry Oatmeal, Spoons, Bowls, Toy Bears

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4. Vary The Material:

Dry Raw Oatmeal

Easter Grass (Especially The Paper Kind) Or Shredded

Paper

Cracked Corn Cob Litter

Dirt (Bagged/Purchased For Cleanliness)

Leaves (Real Or Silk)

Bark Mulch

Cotton Balls

Cedar Or Pine Shavings

Silk Flowers And Leaves

Dried Pasta, Rice, Large Beans (Supervise!)

Shaving Cream

Powdered “Snow”

Cornstarch

5. Vary The Location:

Inside/Outside

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STEAM curriculum Guide - 2-3 years -

Category Activity title Video Activity in Details

Put a couple of drops of a color in
the bottom of the child’s glass. Have them
Food predict what will happen, then allow
Art them to pour and find out. Was their
Colouring/ prediction true? Why do they think the
hand and finger liquid changed color?
Use the colour for hand/finger printing.
printing
Let the child finger paint on a baking
sheet. Encourage your child to use palms,
fingers, thumbs, and his or her whole
hands to make designs in the finger paint.
When your child is finished, help
him or her make handprints on several
sheets of construction paper. When the
paint is dry, cover the papers with clear
self-stick paper (or have them laminated).
Use your child's Handprint
Place Mats at meal times.

Art
Colour mixing use paint,
colored ice Mix primary colors to make secondary
cubes, colors
colored
water.
Make food juice ■ Make fruit juice popsicles and discuss
how the cold temperature turns liquid
popsicles into a solid.

SCIENCE /
TECHNOLOGY
Growing things Seeds, Glass
jars, plastic
Plant seeds in glass jars or clear plastic bags
so children can observe and describe
bags, what happens as the roots, stems and
camera leaves grow.
ETC. Take photographs or invite children to
make drawings to record the changes.

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ART Tape a length of wrapping paper to a
Footprints Mural washable floor or to the sidewalk outside.
Make sure the
plain side of the wrapping paper is facing
up. Pour a little tempera paint into a pan.
Help your
child step into the paint and then walk
across the wrapping paper, leaving his or
her footprints
behind.

ENGINNERING Car toys • Using toys, ask children to sort objects

with and by those that have wheels and those that
Wheeled and without do not. Take the wheels off a toy car or
wheels find a broken one so children can explore
non – wheeled or compare function. Ask “Where else can
toy vehicles we find wheels and why are they
important?”

Play dough Play dough,

stir sticks,
stones, 1. Put the play dough a ball like
cardboard shape in front of the child on a
strips table. Have the stir sticks, stones,
cardboard strips etc. on the table,
should the child want to use them.
2. Take a ball of play dough for
yourself.
3. Don’t say or do
anything! Observe, wait and liste
n to the child.
OBSERVE, WAIT AND LISTEN
Observe, wait and listen means:
Observe – the child’s actions (without
saying or doing anything yourself)
See whether he pokes, pulls, or rolls the
play dough, whether he reaches for the
objects, and how he uses them. Observe
exactly what he seems to be interested in
– give it at least 30 seconds.
Wait – for the child to do or say something
Sit quietly and wait, without speaking.

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 Avoid showing your child what you think
he should do with the play dough. Just
squeeze or roll your own play dough
slowly. Your goal is to give your child an
opportunity to do what HE wants to do
FIRST.
Listen – to what the child says, without
interrupting.

Engineering For older children, Using play dough or

/Art Wooden clay, children can collaborate on making a
blocks and zoo, a pet shop, a bakery, a house, or a
toyshop. Encourage them to help each
plastic other create the animals and objects that
they want in their setting. Ask the kids to
animals / describe how they each contributed to the
project.
shapes
SCIENCE
Outdoor Go on a nature walk – collect natural
Exploration materials that can be analyzed, sorted,
and categorized (as well as looked at
under magnifying glasses)
find a place where children can explore
temperature (in sun and shadow) on a
daily basis, check on plants/trees and
observe changes over time, and collect
rainwater.

MATHEMATICS
Materials for Pour materials like legos on the table and
have the children sort according to size,
sorting and colour and shape. Add in a math
component by asking your children to
classifying count the number of legos they have
placed in each category. Next, have
them say how many of each category
there are. As an example, your child
might say there are 10 white legos, 7
red legos, 5 green Legos, and 8
colours.
Musical From maracas to tambourines, using
instruments together allows children to
instruments make music they couldn't create on their
own. When kids form a band, they hear

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 the power of collaborating.

Technology Using the Smart Phone ■ Describe actions when using

technology; for example, “I am going
to click the button in the middle of the
smartphone to open the web site.”
■ Ask children open-ended questions
(“What happened when you pushed that
button?”). They can also practicing how to
use the phone to make calls.

Mathematics/ SHAPES Take pictures of different shapes around

Technology The SCHOOL/ house and ask them
questions about what shape they think
that is.

Engineering Building Encourage children to stack brightly

colored foam or lego bricks and knock
them down.
■ Offer foam blocks, cardboard boxes and
connecting blocks to create structures.
■ Provide recycling materials, such as
empty plastic milk jugs and small boxes
for children to build tall towers.
■ Ask questions that require predictions:
“Is the building balanced?” “Do you
think it will stay up by itself?”

Mathematics Counting/Sorting ■ Arrange things in order from smallest to

largest.
■ Count buttons when getting dressed or
count the number of crackers served as a
snack.
■ Use toys that allow children to sort
shapes.
■ Arrange toys or food in groups of
“same” or “different.”

Maths COUNTING/SORTING ctd ■ Count steps as you walk with children;

count pieces of food as you put them on
the plate.
■ Invite children to help sort socks by color
and size.

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 ■ Create a pattern by alternating pieces of
art clay of different color, shape and size.
■ Encourage children to compare groups of
“more” and “less.”

TECHNOLOGY Plastics
Pouring and cups, water, • Practice pouring. Let your children
pitcher, learn how to pour using a small plastic
scooping sand, m pitcher and
a few plastic cups. Tell them that the cups
are empty and that they should pour the
liquid into the cups until they are full. Try
emptying the pitcher to fill the cups, and
then try emptying the cups to fill the
pitcher. Experiment with different size cups.
“Will the cup hold more water?” Ask
the child to make a prediction.

• Scooping. Using scoops for the beach,

have your children practice moving dry
material
like sand or dirt from one container to fill
another. Try not to spill any of the sand
between
the containers.
• Observe closely. Using a simple
magnifier, have children look at something
up close.
What do they see with the magnifier? What
do they see without it?

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STEAM CURRICULUM - Ages 3-5

Category Activity Title Materials Learning Activities

Technolo
gy Scissors Scissors,
Show your pupils how to hold scissors. The thumb
goes in the top hole and the pointer (index) finger
Cardboard/s
skills heet of paper,
should be placed in the lower hole. The middle
finger should rest just below the rim of the lower
shapes hole to support the scissors. The ring and
template
little finger are not used in cutting.
• Follow the line. Draw a simple wide line from
the top to bottom of a sheet of paper.
Direct the children to cut right above the line.
Remind them that the thumb should
always be up (in the top hole of the scissors).
• Basic shape cut outs. Draw three basic
shapes on paper (square, circle, and triangle), and
let your children cut them out. Save the cutouts
(and scraps) for use in other projects

Technolo Plastics cups,

gy Pouring water, • Practice pouring. Let your children learn how
pitcher, sand,
and m
to pour using a small plastic pitcher and
a few plastic cups. Tell them that the cups are
scooping empty and that they should pour the
liquid into the cups until they are full. Try
emptying the pitcher to fill the cups, and
then try emptying the cups to fill the pitcher.
Experiment with different size cups.
“Will the cup hold more water?” Ask the child
to make a prediction.

• Scooping. Using scoops for the beach, have

your children practice moving dry material
like sand or dirt from one container to fill another.
Try not to spill any of the sand between
the containers.
• Observe closely. Using a simple magnifier,
have children look at something up close.
What do they see with the magnifier? What
do they see without it?

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ENGIN
EERING BUILDI Lego bricks,
• Mix it up. Use mixed sets of building materials.
Try mixing building blocks with legos, or foam
form bricks,
NG cans,
bricks with cans.
• Recycle it. Use card board boxes, plastic
cardboard
STRUCT boxes, plastic
bottles, nesting cups, left over containers as
building materials.
bottles, etc..
URES • Challenge it. Create a set of challenges for
children using a variety of building materials.
 How tall can you make it?
 Build a tunnel you can crawl through.
 Build something as a team.
 Build something in five minutes.
 Unbuild. Slowly take apart a tower
until it tumbles down.

Science
Bubble * Bubble In a bucket or tub, make a bubble solution
Everyone loves solution. with dish soap.
bubbles, so it‘s easy Gently mix Using a variety of oddly shaped objects—
to engage together in a such as cookie cutters, a loop of string,
children in observing large bowl or and a straw—teach your children how to
and experimenting tray: dip their object in the water and blow
while 1 gallon through it to make a bubble. Experiment
they are blowing water, 1 cup with blowing fast and slow. Ask, “Which
bubbles and watching dishwashing method works better?” Have students look
them liquid, at the shape of the bubble maker before
pop! This activity Assorted they use it. Ask, “What shape do you think
helps strengthen objects for the bubble will be?” No matter what
mouth muscles (by bubble shape the object, the bubble will always be
learning to blow) and blowing round due to liquid surface tension.
introduces all the , String
properties of bubbles. , Drinking “What happened when you made a
straws
bubble?”
, Cookie
Encourage kids to use descriptive words
cutters
like faster and slower.
, Slotted
spatula

14
Enginnee
ring Ramp ■ Compare what happens when rolling toy
cars down cardboard ramps. Which car

rolling went the farthest? What happens when

the ramp is raised higher?

Art Use different objects to paint – foam brushes with

Painting designs cut into the tip, wire
cleaning brush, and popsicle sticks. Ask, ―what
designs do the different objects
make?‖

Houses ■ Read the story of “The Three Little Pigs”

to children. Build houses using different

for pigs materials and encourage children to

act out the story. As the wolf, ask the

(or other children to “blow the house down” using

their breath, a hairdryer or fan.

fairy tale
themes
SCIENC
E Gardening Block out part of your yard for an area where
children can plant flowers and vegetables. Let
projects your kids and their friends work together to
make a drawing of the garden they'd like to
create. As they plan and then work on their
garden, point out how they're all contributing.
Encourage them to take on different jobs, such
as planting, monitoring, and watering. This
project requires all of the little gardeners to share
ideas and tasks: The bounty the garden bears will
truly be the product of everyone's labor.
find a place where children can explore
temperature (in sun and shadow) on a daily basis,
check on plants/trees and observe changes over
time, and collect rainwater. Choose a class tree –
observe what happens to the tree over time by
taking pictures with a camera or IPad, measure the
circumference of the tree, take a closer look at the

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 bark or leaves of the tree by using a magnifying
glass or computerized microscope connected to a
laptop or IPad
Enginneri Offer a wide variety of of materials for children to
ng Bridge build including big and large boxes and other
recyclables. Present a challenge like make a bridge
building for cars to pass or from the animals to move from
chair to the desk
Science A simple sink or Allow students to put the toys or
Large
float experiment with materials in the tub of water, I prod
container filled
water. Does it Sink with water them with questions about what they
or Float? Objects thought.
collected from Do you think that one will sink when
around the
class e.g toys, you put it in?
pencil, tissue What do you think will happen with that
paper, ball etc. toy?
… and so on.
Let the pupils guess each time.
Science Oil and Water The idea of this density science project is to explore what
Water liquids float, and which ones sink, by filling water balloons
Science balloons with different liquids.
Exploration.  60mL Here are some ideas for what to put in your
Syringe balloons:
 lamp oil
 Different
liquid  rubbing alcohol
solutions  vegetable oil
(some ideas:  dish soap
water,  milk
vegetable oil,  maple syrup
corn syrup,  corn syrup
salt water,
 honey
sugar water,
 salted water
juice, etc.)
As you fill each balloon make sure you label it so
 Permanent they don’t get mixed up.
marker
Once your balloons are filled, head over to your
container. This is the perfect time to ask for some
predictions. Will it sink or will it float? Then place
your balloons in the water and watch what
happens.
Different types of liquids have different densities. In
this experiment we want to see which liquids have
a greater density than water causing them to sink,
and which ones are less dense than water, which
allows them to float.
Oil and Water Science Exploration

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ART Gel Paint colour two get
mixing relatively a big bottle of clear hair gel and add food
cheap coloring to it (About 5 drops of food color per
experiment ingredients: tablespoon of gel
hair gel and used). Mixing it will be fun for the kids….visit..
food https://leftbraincraftbrain.com/five-minute-
coloring. crafts-gel-paint-color-mixing-experiment/
ART Five Minute Crafts: 2 T cold Mix ingredients together and paint
Homemade Face cream or
Lotion
away! It can be fun when the
Paint 1 T _our or children paint their faces with the
cornstarch face paint they made.
Gel food Visit https://leftbraincraftbrain.com/five-minute-
coloring (1
toothpick
friday-homemade-face-paint/
dip worked
for this)
ART Gelli Printing – An One Gelli pad Start your lesson plan by telling the kids a bit about
Easy Art Project You’ll Acrylic paint screen printing and use a stamp as
Want to in various an example. Most kids have used rubber stamps
Do colors before and will understand the
Nice quality concept. Show them how instead of using an ink
paper pad, you can use a paintbrush for
Stamps, painting a thin layer of paint on the stamp instead,
wooden and then use it multiple times to
popsicle get different colors of the same image, just making
sticks, q-tips, sure to wipe it clean between uses.
bubble wrap, This is the idea behind printmaking.
or any other
fun texturing
tool
you want to
throw in
Lots of baby
wipes
Paper towels
and a place
for people to
wash their
hands
Palettes for
paint
Maths LIGHT TABLE a light Scatter the bingo chips or acrylic letters on the light
and Art COLOR table! some tablet/ table. Add the shot glasses in matching
colors.
SORTING bingo chips Watch those little fingers work hard to pick the
ACTIVITY or legos, or chips up! Then use color recognition to choose the
right shot glass, and use hand-eye coordination to
clear plastic pop it in. So much learning and development in
letters and such a colorful and simple activity. Students

17
 clear plastic should sort or ask the teacher to call out
colored letters or numbers for them to find.
shot
glasses.
Shape  For each suncatcher, place the construction paper
contact shape on a square of contact paper with the sticky
Suncatchers side up. On the inside of the shape, kids can use Do-
paper
 a-Dot markers to make designs out of primary
construction colors.
paper Once the inside of the shape is covered with
 Do-a-Dot primary dots, next place another square of
markers (or contact paper on top, sticky side down.
Bingo Children can press the contact paper together,
dabbers) squishing the dots together, and creating secondary
 scissors colors!
 masking https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2
tape 017/10/color-mixing-shape-suncatchers-
do-a-dot-markers.html
STEAM Create a  Each artist picks one brush and one color and
collaborative Primed starts by painting big giant circles on to the
Canvas
mural using canvas. Move around and paint a variety of
Acrylic
painted circles Paint different size circles.
 Switch colors and brushes.
Paintbrushes Once the canvas begins to be filled with circles
Paint cups start by creating patterns with circles. Start
Drop Cloth layering circles on top of circles.
For a finishing touch, you may wish to take a
black permanent marker or white paint marker
and add outlines or tiny dots of pattern and
texture.
We hung our finished circle painting mural in
our living room.
SOIL Bringing a little of the outdoors inside can be fun
plastic gloves
SCIENCE AND soil – dig it out
(and educational!).
This activity doesn’t have to be messy. Well not too
ENGINEERIN of the backyard,
messy anyway. if you have a little scientist at
G PLAY or pick up some
home, or a little engineer – they’re going to love
Potting Soil from
the local
this opportunity to explore and play.
gardening store SOIL SAFETY TIPS
a large tub – a Just a few things to keep in mind when playing with
plastic storage soil!
tub or old baby  Don’t eat soil
bathtub works Always wash hands thoroughly with soap after
well
playing with soil
water
container – to Keep soil and water in the tub

18
 hold and pour Can you tell what kind of soil you have?
water There are 3 main types of soil: sandy soil, silt,
an old sheet or and clay.
table cloth to put
Can you make a ribbon snake with the soil
on the floor to
contain any mess when it’s wet? If you can, it’s likely clay or silt
small or loam (a mixture of the different types).
gardening tools Silty soil easily makes balls or snakes when
– a shovel and wet – kind of like playdough. If you squeeze a
rake are perfect, silty ball, it will easily break apart.
or try this Plant Clay soil is very sticky and also easy to shape
Tool Set kit into balls and snakes. A ball made with clay
small rocks –
soil won’t break apart easily when squeezed.
can often find
these at the local
dollar store Sandy soil feels grainy or gritty when rubbed
popsicle sticks between the fingers, where clay or silt feels
little cars smooth.
(optional)
little plastic
sample
containers – for
“specimen” jars
(optional)
Magnifying
Glass (optional)

Kid-Made Holiday Tempera painting on craft paper creates a whole different

Gift Bags paint (Btw, I scene. Paint little tiny snowakes on the craft bag.
just tried So now that you have some gorgeous gift
Prang bags, it’s time to figure out what to put
Tempera inside them!
Paint for the
rst time and
am in
LOVE with
it. Such
great color
coverage,
even in
white and
easy to
wash off
hands.)
Washy tape
Glitter glue
Rubber
stamps
Cookie
cutters
Maths Sorting and weight Sort everyday materials—like toys, rocks, leaves,

19
 seashells, shoes, or snacks—according to
different features, such as size, texture, color,
pattern, and weight. Introduce descriptive words
like big, round, rough, small, shallow, flat,
crooked, and heavy.
Have each child select one item on a nature walk—
like a leaf, rock, or other small object—
and draw the item when back indoors. Encourage
students to notice the shape, texture, colors,
and weight of the object, noting fine detail if
possible. Keep a journal throughout the year to
save these observations.
Technolo SCISSORS SKILLS Offer opportunities for children to cut out
gy. Set up for children a different shapes, starting simple and working up
problem to solve but to more complex shapes. Remember that very
without the use of young children may need many months to master
the right tool (e.g., scissor technology!
clean up sand table Cut out pictures from books or magazines of living
area without a and non living things and have children sort them
broom or try to cut into nliving and non living things on a large board
paper without or paper and place on the wall. After sorting there
scissors) or have should be discussion of what informed their
children use the choices. DO you agree with them? If they are
―wrong‖ tool for the wrong , they should be corrected.
job (e.g., a fork to “Try cutting out these shapes.” Give some
eat soup or scissors choices of what to cut, or just provide some
to paint). This helps recycled paper and let your children cut in any way
children focus on the they want.
function of the After cutting these shapes, they should be
―best‖ tool and glued to their notes called interactive note
about other ways to book.
solve the problem
The pupils should be given more complex
and teaches children
about the purposeful shapes to cut.
structure and
function of different
tools.

SCIENC AIR CAN MOVES Ask your children to blow air on their hands and to
E THINGS wave their hands in the air. Ask them, “What do
you feel?” and “Can you hold air?” Line up
floating toys in water. Use a straw to blow a toy
across the water. Repeat the activity.
Ask, “What happened when you blew on the
toy?”
Science Making a bubble In a bucket or tub, make a bubble solution with

20
 dish soap.
Using a variety of oddly shaped objects—such as
cookie cutters, a loop of string,
and a straw—teach your children how to dip their
object in the water and blow
through it to make a bubble. Experiment with
blowing fast and slow. Ask, “Which
method works better?” Have students look at the
shape of the bubble maker before
they use it. Ask, “What shape do you think the
bubble will be?” No matter what
shape the object, the bubble will always be round
due to liquid surface tension.
•
Science Exploring Shadows Outside on a sunny day or inside a darkened
room with a flashlight, create a shadow and ask
children, “What do you need
to create a shadow?” The answer is a light, an
object, and a place for the
shadow to fall. Explore the shape of a shadow by
moving the light
closer to the object or farther away from the
object. Keeping the light
steady, move the object closer or further to the
wall or floor. Using chalk on the
sidewalk, outline the shadow of a hand, arm,
or whole body

SCIENC AIR AND WIND Materials For indoor play, ask your child to blow on his
E * Indoor air hands and wave them in the air. ―What do y
• The goal of this and wind
activity is for children activities:
to explore the o Straws
properties of air and o Assorted
wind and to objects to
understand blow on: ou feel?
that air can move feathers, Blow hard, blow soft, wave hard, wave soft. Does
things. pom-poms, that change what you feel?‖ Talk about what air
corks, paper, is. ―Can you see air? Can you hold it? What
You can‘t see the salt, rocks happens to the object when you blow on it?‖ Talk
wind, but you can see * Outdoor air with
what it is and wind your child about how, when you blow air, it
doing. This activity activities: becomes wind, and about how wind can push

21
 encourages children‘s o A windy things.
curiosity and day! • Encourage your child to use descriptive words
observation skills o Leaves, a like faster and slower.
indoors and outdoors kite, light • Have your child choose different objects to blow
with air that moves objects found on with the straw. ―What happens to the feather?
things. in nature The rock?‖ Have your child try out different ways
to create wind besides blowing. ―Can you move
the paper by waving your hands?‖ Experiment
with blowing objects on different surfaces—for
example, a rough carpet or the grass.
Technolo Magnets – Push and materials * Make sure your child has a few items on his paper
gy pull Assorted plate. Let him choose what to explore. ―What
magnets happens when you hold the magnet near the coin?
Magnets attract * Assorted Near the feather?‖
different kinds of objects that • If needed, you can show your child how to hold
metals to do and do not the magnet and demonstrate that if you touch
themselves. Children have certain objects, they will stick to the magnet.
can learn about magnetic • ―What did you see happen with the different
technology properties. objects? Did the magnet attract some things?
by exploring magnets These can Did some not stick at all? What happens if you
and magnetic include hold more than one object up to the magnet?‖
properties. buttons, Acknowledge your child‘s ideas about why some
coins, paper objects stick and some don‘t. With young children,
The goal of this clips, corks, there is opportunity to describe what happens and
activity is to introduce paper, cotton test out some new ideas. Ask your child to put
children to magnets balls, the magnet close to an object. Now put it far away.
and magnetic cloth, and What happens?
properties through keys. • Have your child guess which other objects on the
exploration and play. * Paper plates table might stick, and have him try out his ideas.
• Place assorted or trays Try using all of the different magnets. ―Do you
objects in a container, notice any differences between what sticks to the
and have your child magnets and what doesn‘t?‖
choose which objects • If your child wants to know what magnets are,
he wants to start you can explain that they are a material that can be
exploring. formed or found in nature that attracts one
particular kind of metal: iron.
• Challenge an older child to predict which objects
will be attracted. Then yo

u can ask,
―Why do you
think some objects are attracted and some aren‘t?‖
See if your child discovers opposite polarity on
his own. If he doesn‘t, point it out to him with two
magnets. Show him how some magnets repel

22
SCIENC MAGNIFYING Magnifying • Children love magnifying glasses and the
E GLASSES glasses (the experience of ―making things bigger.‖ Whether
EXPERIMENT. stronger the they‘ve
make things look lens, the used them before or not, they‘re going to want to
bigger. This more you will just grab them and start looking at things. Give
activity encourages be able to your child some time to try them out and play.
children to use this see) Your child may need guidance on how to hold the
valuable * Assorted magnifying glass (children tend to bring them up
tool to view objects objects with too close to their face), so have your child practice
up close and to tiny parts to holding the magnifying glass near and farther away
observe the view, such as to see where she gets the clearest view.
details of their flowers, bark, • Join in the fun and use your own magnifying
environment. shells, glass. Use descriptive language when you tell your
textured child what you observe. ―I see two little hairy
paper, and things poking out from under the leaf. There are
The goal of this cloth. tiny
activity is to introduce holes all over this shell!‖
children to • When your child discovers something interesting
magnifying glasses about her object, it is a good time to ask ―what‖
and to get them questions: ―What do you think the black specks are
excited about for?‖ Your child‘s answer is not as important
and comfortable as getting her to think about what she is seeing.
using this wonderful She may draw on past experience (two black dots
observation tool.
• Set up the table with
magnifying glasses
and an assortment of
objects to view.
on top must mean ey es),
or come up with a wild guess (they keep the top
on); there is no wrong
answer as long as the child is exploring and
observing. You can help the child think more
deeply:
―What do you think a leaf would have ‗fur‘ for?
Could it be to hold on to more water?‖
• If your child wants to know what magnifying
glasses are made of, you can explain that it‘s a
special type of glass or plastic lens that is made in a
curved (―convex‖) shape and has magnifying
properties. Searching the Internet will help you
find an appropriate answer for your child.
Encourage your child to talk about her
observations and what she experienced. ―Was
there
anything that surprised you? Confused you? What
else would you like to do with your magnifying
glass?‖ Share what you learned as well.

23
 SHAPE IT UP Paper • Show your young child how to hold her scissors.
Strengthen the stencils: cut (The thumb goes in the top hole, pointer finger in
muscles in little hands out a circle, the lower hole. The middle finger rests just below
and develop square, the rim of the lower hole to support the scissors.)
fine motor skills by triangle, Draw a simple wide line from the top to bottom of
giving children rectangle, the paper. ―Can you cut along the line?‖ Remind
scissors, markers, oval, and your child that the thumb should always be in the
crayons, and other diamond top hole of the scissors.
writing tools. This shape from • Let the child choose a stencil to trace. She may
activity gives card want to spend some time exploring the way the
children time to stock or a stencil shapes feel. ―Try feeling the circle with your
practice their writing paper plate eyes closed. Slip the square on your arm and
skills using * Paper for turn it to feel the different kinds of edges. Can you
tools that help get drawing and trace the diamond with your fingertips?‖ This
things done. cutting helps your child learn about the shapes, which in
* Child-safe turn can help her feel more comfortable drawing
The goal of this scissors and cutting them.
activity is for children * Tape • When the child is done tracing, she can cut out
to practice their early * Crayons her shape. Remember that cutting proficiency will
writing and scissors and markers vary. Very young children may simply make little
skills by tracing ―feathering‖ snips at the edges while you hold the
familiar shapes as well paper, while the oldest may be able to cut out a
as drawing and complex shape. You can support your child‘s
cutting them out. efforts
• Set up the table with by saying things like ―Take your time; scissors are
the stencils, paper, tricky! How does it feel? You‘ve made a lot of
scissors, crayons, and progress on that square!‖
markers.

ENGIN Build It: Towers! * Assorted • Let the child explore the building materials by
EERING The goal of this stackable handling and talking about them. ―Look at all these
activity is for children building different materials! How will you start your
Engineeri to use problem- materials: structure? What goes next?‖
ng solving skills to blocks, • If the child is very young, you could suggest that
activities design tower empty yogurt he build a tower for the toy people to live in, then
encourag structures out of containers you can work on the structure together. Be sure to
e brain a variety of materials. with lids let him pick out the pieces and try them out
developm • Set up a clear area tightly taped before you suggest something different.
ent. on the floor with the on, plastic • As the child tries out different designs and ways
Children building materials to storage of stacking the materials, you can support his
solve one side. Small parts containers Learning by asking, ―Can you make a tower as tall
problems, and toys can be with lids, as you are? What would happen if you removed

24
use a grouped together in a plastic some of the pieces? Can you make a tower with a
variety of box or other or wooden tunnel that this toy car could drive through?‖
materials, container. spools, paper • The child may want to include the toys into his
design, towel tubes, play rather then focus only on building towers.
create, or toilet This is a great opportunity to encourage
and build paper tubes imaginative play during an engineering design
things * Assorted challenge. ―How big will the barn door opening
that small toy need to be for the horse to fit through? How many
work. props such as yogurt containers will you need for the walls?‖
cars, animals, • If the tower tumbles down unexpectedly, ask,
or people ―What do you think happened? Is there something
* Open floor different you‘d like to try? What do you think will
space happen if you move this big piece down lower?‖
Be sure to jump in with a helping hand if your
child seems too frustrated to keep going or would
like some support.
ENGIN Construction Zone: Paper: 8½‖ x • Start your child off with one paper strip and ask
EERING Building a Paper 11‖ sheets cut him to see if he can use it to create a bridge
Bridge into thirds across two containers. ―Now choose a weight to
widthwise to put on your bridge. What happens?‖ If the bridge
Children have an make 8½‖ x 3 collapses, you can suggest that he experiment with
opportunity to ½‖ strips other weights or try rebuilding the bridge. ―Why
practice their * Empty do you think the bridge fell? What could you do
engineering skills storage differently?‖
while they design and containers or • If your child is having trouble creating a bridge,
build bridges small buckets suggest modifications such as folding, crumpling,
made out of paper. that are less tearing, or ripping the paper. ―Would drawing on
This activity gives than 8‖ the paper make a difference in the structure?‖
children the across the top • Encourage your child to understand that lots of
opportunity to * Small different kinds of bridges will work, and there is no
imagine a bridge, weights, one right way to do this activity. Have him think
create a bridge, suchas plastic about bridges he has seen or driven over. ―Do you
and recreate it if it animals, dice, remember what the bridges look like? What shapes
doesn‘t work. or small did you see in them? Do you have a favorite
magnets bridge?‖
• For your very young child, it‘s fine if he just
• The goal of this wants to crumple the paper or play with the
activity is for children animals. You could set up a little bridge and help
to create a bridge him move the animals back and forth over and
from one side of a under it.
container to the other • For your older child or pupil, once he has
that will support at completed a weight-bearing bridge, challenge him
least one of the to build a bridge with certain attributes, such as
weights. one that has an arch or railings or that can hold
• Set up a clear area more weight.
on the floor or a table Try It Out. Try making other types of bridges
with the paper strips using materials from around your home and yard,
and buckets out. The such as twigs, string, tinfoil, or rocks. Explore your
weights can be recycle bin as well for larger building materials.

25
 on the side in a What ideas can your child come up with, and how
container. can you help him design and build them? When
you and your child have got a bridge built,
encourage him to try getting different objects (toy
vehicles, people, or animals) to stand on or cross
the bridge. Talk with your child about what works
and what doesn‘t, and why.
• Bridges Everywhere. Point out bridges as you
walk or drive around with your child. Talk about
the experience of building your own bridges. Share
observations about how the bridges you see are
made, how they are shaped, how long they are, and
how they stay up. Notice who or what is traveling
on them—for example, footbridges, train bridges,
highway bridges. You can also encourage your
child to go back to the original bridge-building
activity and see how much more he can do.

Engineeri Recycle Art Build * Base • Encourage the child to handle and touch the
ng: materials to materials as she chooses what to use. Younger
This activity build from: children may spend the entire time just playing
encourages children paper plates, with the materials. This is an important learning
to build 3-D paper experience by itself!
sculptures from towel tubes • Show by doing it yourself! Start to build your
recycled household * Assorted own sculpture, and don‘t say a word. Let the child
objects in a creative types of observe or just jump in on her own!
and fun way. paper: • Ask your child, ―What would you like to start
construction with? Do you want something flat or round? If it‘s
Set up the table with paper, round, how will you attach it to the plate?‖
the paper, containers wrapping • Encourage different ways to handle the materials.
of materials, glue paper, ―Would you like to try scrunching, tearing, or
sticks, and scissors. wallpaper folding your paper instead of cutting it? Can you
Have your child * Assorted make your paper into a tent? An arch? A fan?‖
choose a base materials to • Encourage your child to work on building her
material to start her glue, layer, project up and out. ―Could you use the felt to
sculpture from. and build make
with: your project higher? How could you add cork or
stiff ribbon, buttons to make your sculpture wider?‖
bottle caps, • Ask your child to talk about her project. ―Is there
corks, a part of it you really like? Is there something else
buttons, felt, you might have liked to try? Do you have any
tinfoil stories about any of the pieces?‖
* Contact

26
 paper or • Try It. Introduce the hole punch as another tool;
stickers your child may like to punch holes to weave the
* Scissors yarn
* Glue sticks or ribbon through for hanging her finished project.
* Hole punch You can also suggest using the contact paper or
* Yarn, string, stickers to hold things together rather than glue:
or narrow Could you use these stickers to attach the string to
ribbon the cork? This creates an interesting design
challenge that has many solutions.
• More Materials. What recycle materials can you
discover at home? Make an adventure out of
looking for interesting materials together. Use an
old shoebox as your family‘s recycle art box to
store interesting items for later use. Projects can
also be kept and added to over time, as your child
enjoys the ongoing adventure of looking for
recycled materials and finding new ways to attach
them to her sculpture.
• Recycle Art Boxes. Introduce your friends to
recycle art by creating recycle art boxes as gifts.
Create
a gift for your child‘s friend by decorating an
empty shoebox and adding some markers, stickers,
a
glue stick and pair of scissors.
• Local Recycle. Go online with your child and
research interesting products made from recycled
materials, such as park benches and playground
equipment. See if you can find these items being
used in your neighborhood.

Technolo Photography ■ Encourage children to take pictures of

gy places they visit. Look at the pictures
together and talk about what happened,
who was there, etc. Take pictures at
the school where children will begin
kindergarten. Talk about what they
might see and do at the school.
■ Find collaborative storytelling
applications that allow children to select

27
 characters and work with friends to
create and tell stories.

Technolo BeeBots
gyb Teach directionality,
(Robotics beginning coding
) skills

Maths Identify various two- Explore shapes in classroom and those found in
dimensional shapes nature.
using Help children use natural materials to make shapes
appropriate language. and make shape patterns in the Arts Laboratory as
part of artwork.
Create and represent Talk about shapes of blocks while putting them
three-dimensional away or
shapes using them to build. Encourage children to explore
(ball/sphere, square shapes in Arts Laboratory, Dissection Station, etc.
box/cube, where they are making comparisons between 2D
tube/cylinder) using and 3D
various manipulative shapes.
materials, such as
popsicle sticks,
blocks, pipe cleaners,
pattern blocks, and so
on.
WHAT’S FOR Look through magazines with your child to find
LUNCH? pictures of his or her favorite foods. Cut out the
food pictures. Have your child glue the pictures to
a paper plate to make a picnic "lunch." If you
wish, help your child prepare a paper plate "lunch"
for each member of your family.

ART Painting
Pour a small amount of paint on a paper plate.
Collect several different round objects such as an
empty yogurt container, a plastic cup, and a
cardboard tube. Give your child a
constructionpaper circle. Show your child how to
press the objects into the paint and then onto the
paper
circle to make Circle Prints.

Ladybug Spots
Cut a large circle out of red construction paper and
smaller circles out of black construction
paper. Let your child glue the black spots onto the
red circle to make Ladybug Spots.

28
 STEAM CURRICULUM ( 6-8 Year olds)
STEAM Vegetable garden Plant a vegetable garden.

 Water collection
systems
Build a water collection system using materials of your
choice.

SCIENCE Float and Sink Provide children with pieces of tin foil, ask them if it will sink
or float. Challenge them to find ways to make the tinfoil sink.
Add other items for children to make predictions with.
Encourage children to guess which of the materials will sink
and which will float and then test their hypotheses.

Mathematics Constructing 3 D Create and represent three-dimensional shapes (ball/sphere,

2D and shapes square box/cube, tube/cylinder) using various manipulative
materials, such as popsicle sticks, blocks, pipe cleaners, pattern
blocks, toothpick, styroorm, empty toilet paper tubes ..and so on.
Talk about shapes of blocks while putting them away or using them
to build. Encourage children to explore shapes in Arts Laboratory,
Dissection Station, etc. where they are making comparisons
between 2D and 3D shapes.

SKYSCRAPER  Colored Googling images and videos of skyscrapers like

ENGI DAY craft The Sears Tower, The Empire State Building, The Chrysler
(popsicl Building, The Transamerica Pyramid, and the Shanghai
NNE BUILDING e)
sticks
Tower.
ACTIVITY You can construct multiple boxes that would serve as floors
ERIN  Low
heat
to stack on top of one another
To further this activity, here are some conversation
G glue
gun
questions to ask your children:
and
glue -WHAT WAS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN BUILDING YOUR
STRUCTURE?
sticks

-IF YOU BUILD IT OVER, WHAT WILL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY?

Paper
tape
-IF EACH CUBE REPRESENTS X-AMOUNT OF FLOORS, HOW
MANY TOTAL FLOORS WILL YOUR STRUCTURE HAVE?

-WHAT CITY WILL YOU BUILD YOUR STRUCTURE IN? WHY?

29
 -WHAT NAME WILL YOU GIVE YOUR SKYSCRAPER? WHY?

-WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT FOR KIDS TO DO

ACTIVITIES LIKE THIS?

6-8 Pennies Did you know that you can make a battery with coins? This
Eeng/ HOW TO (or more) coin battery will actually produce a voltage similar to a small
6-8 Nickels
tech. MAKE A (or more)
battery!
In a small bowl, mix together the salt in the vinegar until the
COIN Paper Towels salt is dissolved.
or Coffee
BATTERY Filters
Cut the paper towel (or coffee filters) into small squares. You
1/4 c. White
will want them smaller than the coins so they are not
Vinegar
overlapping.\
1 Tbsp. Salt
Multimeter (v
oltage testing Dip the squares into the vinegar and
meter)
Small LED Pin salt mixture and layer the coins in a
Light
pattern: penny, paper, nickel. You will
want to finish with a penny on one
end and a nickel on the other end.

Once you have a large stack, you can test it out with your
multimeter. You will want to turn it to a low voltage setting
and test it out. To light up an LED light, you will need to

reach about a 2 V reading on the multimeter .

Scien It’s a Gas 1. Using the funnel, add 3 teaspoons of baking soda to each
balloon.
Balloons (12 2. Fill each soda bottle 1/3 full with vinegar.
ce inch) 3. Without dropping in the baking soda, fit the balloon top
over the bottle
Small funnel
opening.
or a small
4. Hold up the balloon and let the baking soda fall into the
piece of vinegar.
paper rolled 5. Watch as the baking soda mixes with the vinegar to make
up in a carbon dioxide
funnel gas and blow up the balloon.
shape Follow-up:
Baking soda The vinegar mixes with the baking soda to create a chemical

30
 Vinegar reaction that
Small bottle produces carbon dioxide gas. The gas then blows up the
(12 or 20 balloon.
Oz. soda
bottle)

STEAM Electric Gelatin 1. Provide each student with a small plate with some
Balloon gelatin powder and a
Unflavored small balloon.
gelatin 2. Have the youth blow up the balloon (you can also do
powder this ahead of time).
Paper plate 3. Have the youth rub the balloon on a woolen cloth,
Wool cloth sweater or their hair.
or sweater 4. The youth will hold the “charged-up” balloon above
the plate with the
gelatin (not touching the gelatin).
5. Have the youth raise and lower the balloon and watch
the gelatin powder.
Follow-up:
Have a class discussion on what the students saw and
why they think it happened.
Explain that the balloon was charged after rubbing it with
the wool; it had static
electricity.
The balloon then attracted the gelatin.
What other examples of static electricity?
Brain-pop video!:
http://www.brainpop.com/science/energy/staticelectricity/
Source:
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/electricgelatin.html
Technology Lego WeDos (3rd – 5th
(ROBotics) Grades)

31
 Kits used to build and
program robots
Students work with
partners or small groups
to problem
solve, design, and
redesign HummingBird

Put out salt, flour, and water, invite children to follow the
Scien Making recipe and guess
what they will make. Have them add a half cup of salt,
ce dough two half cups of flour,
and one half cup of water. Stir the dough together and
see what they can create
with it. They can add food colouring to make different
colours of dough.
Using
Scien Thermometers

ce
observe what happens to the tree over time by taking
Tech Color Mixing with pictures with a camera or IPad, measure the
circumference of the tree, take a
nolog Coding closer look at the bark or leaves of the tree by using a
magnifying glass or
y computerized microscope connected to a laptop or

IPad .

32
STEAM CURRICULUM 8 – 11 years

Build a
metropolit
an city

Cereal box 1. Cut a strip of cardboard out of a flattened cereal box to

DIY 4 empty toilet make your bridge. You
paper tubes can tape on extra sections if you want to make a really long
Recycled Blue and green bridge.
painter’s tape 2. Punch holes along the sides of the cardboard leaving a
Suspensi {affiliate}
Baker’s twine
few inches on each
end without holes. The un-holed section serves as the ramp
on Bridge {affiliate}
Small rubber
to the “ground”
Try to approximately line up the holes across the cardboard
bands (rainbow to help increase
loom bands work stability in the bridge.
perfectly) 3. Thread a rubber band through each hole and loop back
{affiliate} through itself to hold in
Hole punch Place
Scissors 4. Create bridge towers by cutting two 1/2″ slits in one end

33
 of the each tube. The
slits should be slightly off the center and across from each
other. See the blue
lines in the picture above for guidance.
5. Start taping your race track and river. Your river should
be a bit narrower than
the length of your bridge so the bridge ends can touch the
“ground.”
6. Tape down your towers. This was the trickiest part
because these towers
support all the weight on the bridge just like a real
suspension bridge. Also be
sure that the slits line up with the direction of the bridge. All
I have to say is
thank you for repositionable tape!
7. Cut your cables out of a length of baker’s twine. Cut them
about twice as long
as your bridge because you can always cut the extra off
later.
8. Feed each piece first through the slits in the towers and
then through each of
the rubber bands. Then pull the twine taught until the
rubber bands stretch
some and the bridge feels secure. Tape the ends of the twine
to the floor.
9. Tape your road connectors over the bridge. Since I often
seem to be stuck in
traffic at bridges in the San Francisco area, I made a toll
plaza where cars can

line up.
Such youtube on how to create a paper robotics
Robotics(
paper
robotics)
34
Building using Lego
bricks Create buildings in the Engineering Station for children and
encourage children to make comparisons of height and width,
use
rulers and non-standardized units of measurement. Make
predictions about how many blocks it will take to build a tower
as
high as they are.
they are.

Robotics (4th-5th Grades)

Circuit boards, motors, servos, and wire connectors
Build their own robot from various materials

CODING Intro to scratch, Create games and make an app.

Coder Camp
• All ages
• High school students can lead workshops for K-8
• http://code.org/learn/codecademy
• STEAM Components
– Technology
– Math
– Art
Boone County Public Library
will.i.am
Musician/The Black Eyed Peas and
Entrepreneur
“Here we are, 2013, we ALL
depend on technology to
communicate, to bank, and none
of us know how to read and write
code. It's important for these kids,
right now, starting at 8 years old,
to read and write code.“

3D design and printing

Web technology
Building structures Non-perishable engineering design exercise in which teams build
Developed by Dorene food items, both structures from food cans and boxes. The exercise provides
Perez. canned goods of students with a
various sizes and hands-on exercise in engineering technology, the teamwork
boxed typical of the field,
goods of various and the creativity necessary for good design and effective
shapes and sizes. problem solving.
(Can be limited to
certain types of Learning Goals

35
 food items.) Discuss and employ the engineering design cycle
Sketching or Practice communication and teamwork skills
graphing paper for Practice problem-solving skills
participants to Demonstrate an understanding of principles underlying the
draw designs. design of
Pens/pencils structures

Building structures Car Materials: Incline a board or table about 3ft in length to form a ramp.
Developed by Dawn Body Materials Use masking tape to mark the start and stop points along
Wiggins. (e.g. rice crispy the table.
bars, cucumbers, Place garbage bags at the bottom of the ramp to collect any
bananas, loaves of mess that
hard may result from racing the cars.
bread, hot dogs, ice Introductory Discussion
cream cones, What do we need to think about when designing an edible
celery, Twinkies) car? (e.g. constraints,
Wheels (e.g. mini materials availability, etc.)
chocolate donuts, One possible engineering design process includes the
cookies, fruit following iterative steps:
loops, gummy State the problem, including any constraints
rings, Brainstorm ideas for a solution, based upon constraints
pinwheel pasta, life Select a solution
savers) Identify and collect materials
Axles (pretzel Construct a prototype
rods, pretzel Evaluate the prototype
sticks) Present the results
Adhesives and Redesign the solution to improve the prototype
Adornments (gum Inform participants whether they will provide their own
drops, mini food to construct their
marshmallows, vehicles or if the materials will be provided.
marshmallows,
thin licorice rope,
cake icing,

36
 sprinkles)
Construction Tools
and Other
Supplementals
Plastic knives
Paper towels or
wipes for clean-up
Additional
Materials
Ramp, ~3ft in
length (e.g. board,
inclined table)
Masking tape
Plastic garbage
bags
Spatula
Measuring device
(e.g. ruler, yard
stick, tape
measure)
Timing device
Calculator
Optional
Camera for
documentary
purposes
Geometry: Polygons Construction Setup
and Polyhedra Materials Have various solids and/or pictures of shapes and solids
Pieces: Toothpicks, placed around the
Developed by Dawn straws, or tables or work areas for participants to see as they arrive.
Wiggins. some other Polygons
material for What is a polygon? (a 2-dimensional shape made up of
constructing straight lines)
Connectors: Mini Have each participant match the name of the shape with the
marshmallows/sty picture of the shape.
rofoam, How many sides does a “googolgon” have? (10^100 sides)
raisins, gum drops, What shapes are on the surface of a soccer ball? (black
modeling pentagon and white
clay, or some other hexagon)
connector Have participants make a square out of pieces and
material connectors. Stand it upright.
Activity Sheet, one Is it sturdy? (no)
per participant Have participants make a triangle out of pieces and
Scissors connectors. Stand it upright.
Solids (e.g. die, Is it sturdy? (yes)
rectangular box, What is a polyhedron? (a 3-dimensional space figure made
can of food, ball, up of flat faces;

37
 pyramid, etc.) there are no curved surfaces)
Supplemental List some space figures (solids) that are polyhedra.
Shapes and Solids (Polyhedra: Cube,
Sheet Rectangular Space Figur, Pyramid with Square or Triangular
Pencil/ Pen Base)
List some space figures (solids) that are not polyhedra.
(Cylinder, Cone, Sphere)
Have participants construct a tetrahedron (pyramid with a
triangular base).
Have participants hypothesize about the number of
tetrahedral it will take to
support a book. Then, put them in small groups to test their
hypothesis.
Discuss the results of their experimentation with using
tetrahedra to support a
book.
What shape is common to both the triangular pyramid and
the square pyramid?
Where else do you see this shape? Take a walking tour, if
feasible. (The
triangle is a “strong” shape. It can be found in roof
construction, supports under
tables, wheelchair ramps, etc.)

Geometry: Surround, Objects Set out solids and other objects in advance to pique the
Enclose, Cover, and Fill cubes (e.g. dice, interest of the participants.
sugar cubes, Surround: Distance, Perimeter, and Circumference
Developed by Dawn etc.) Begin with a discussion of distance and how far away things
Wiggins. rectangular solid are. (e.g. How far is it from here to your house? How long is
(e.g. shoe box, the pencil/pen you‟re holding? How far is it over to the
brick, etc,) door? etc.)
solid right circular Discuss dimensions: 0D – point; 1D – line or path; 2D –
cylinder (e.g. plane; 3D – space
canned goods, pill Classify the items as 2D or 3D. (Use the items that you
bottle, etc.) brought, such as: ball,
hollow right square, triangle, Egyptian pyramid, brick, circle, rectangle,
circular cylinder drinking glass, can, etc.)
(e.g. What is perimeter? How do you calculate it? (It is the
vase, drinking distance around the outside of a 2D shape. Add the distance
glass, water bottle, along each edge of the shape and add them together.)
etc.) What is circumference? How do you calculate it? (It is the
circular object distance around a circle. Measure the distance from the
(wheel, lid, etc.) center of the circle to the outside, the
spherical object radius, and multiply by 2π: 2πr)
(ball, balloon, Measure and calculate.
etc.)

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 Enclose: Area
Water Area is a measure of the size of the region that is enclosed
Liquid measuring by the shape. Some
device (e.g. a common shapes are squares, rectangles, circles, and
measuring cup that triangles.
measures in Area of a rectangle: l x w or w x h
ounces) Measure and calculate.
Distance Cover and Fill: Surface Area and Volume
measuring device Surface Area is a measure of the amount of area that it takes
(e.g. ruler, to cover a solid.
tape measure, etc. Some common solids are cubes, rectangular solids, spheres,
that measures in right circular
inches) cylinders, and pyramids.
Calculators Surface area of a rectangular solid: add the area of each face
Participant of the solid.
Activity Sheet Volume is a measure of the amount of space that a solid
takes up or can hold.
Volume of a right circular cylinder: let r be the radius for the
circle and h be
the height of the solid; then, the volume is 2πrh.
Measure and calculate.

Summary Comments and Discussion

Distance , Perimeter, and Circumference
1. What type of measurement is this? (1D)
2. How can you use this type of measurement?
Area and Surface Area
1. What type of measurement is this? (2D)
2. How can you use this type of measurement?
Volume
1. What type of measurement is this? (3D)
2. How can you use this type of measurement?

39
Paper Rockets – Materials and Participants will explore aerodynamic design and math
Building and setup: applications as they build
Launching See instructions by and launch paper rockets.
NASA for Category: Mathematics with the activity included below.
constructing paper Aerodynamic design
Paper rocket and rockets at: (engineering) in the design of the rockets.
rocket launcher http://www.nasa.g Learning Goals
instructions developed ov/pdf/295789ma Practice mathematical calculations related to angles,
by NASA. in_Rockets_High_P distances
Math activity and ower_ Discuss PSI
additional suggestions Paper_Rocket.pdf Explore aerodynamics
developed by Jim And for Mathematics activity:
Gibson and Sue constructing an air After the launch, have students get their rocket and stand
Caley Opsal. compressor paper where it landed.
rocket launcher at: Readjust your baseline to approximately 90 degrees.
http://www.nasa.g Measure the angle from the far end of the baseline to the
ov/pdf/295788ma person holding
in_Rockets_High_ the rocket and record.
Power_Launcher.p To estimate distance, take the adjusted baseline (see above)
df: and multiply
by the tangent of the angle estimate.
Additional
suggestions:
Have students
work in teams.
Use card stock
paper for rockets
for best
construction and
launching.
A PSI of 20-40 is
best for paper
rockets. Higher
PSIs will cause
destruction of the
rockets. Utilize this
opportunity to
discuss PSI.
Earthquake Proof
Structures
• Free papercrafts
downloads at
Canon
•
http://cp.cij.com/en/co
ntents/1006/
• Scientific American

40
Activity:
Lego Sky Scrapers
• Key concepts:
Engineering
Architecture
Physics
Earthquakes

MINECRAFT
Check tech specs!
• Could Minecraft be
the
next great engineering
school?

Tall Paintings

• STEAM Components
– Art
– Science
• Artist: Holton Rower

41
Art Sculptures
• Grades 3-12
• cardstock cut into 1”
x
11” strips, cardstock
for
base, glue sticks
• pool noodle cut to
approximately 3”
height, chenille stems,
paper (for flags, etc.)

Pendulum Painting
• All ages
• Discuss gravity,
motion
• PVC pipe
construction
to create pendulum
paint art.
–
http://teachertomsblo
g.blogspot.co
m/2010/04/pendulum
-painting.html
• Could use with
Pendulum
Challenge from PBS
Kids
–
http://pbskids.org/zoo
m/activities/sc
i/pendulumchallenge.h
tml
Edible Art
• Great for all ages
• Mimic iconic images
from famous
masterpieces, books, or
video games
• More ingredients =
More creative art!

42
Student Art Showcase
• Partner with local
schools and art
teachers
to highlight student
created masterpieces
• All ages! Great
holiday
program!
• Students gain
experience with selling
works.

Pi Day
• Middle & High School
• STEAM Components:
– Math
• How I wish I could
calculate pi! to
remember the first
seven numbers of pi:
3.141592

DNA
• Middle & High School
• Candy DNA Model
• Phenotype vs.
Genotype with
SpongeBob
• DNA Extraction:
http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=hOp

43
u4iN5Bh4
•
http://teach.genetics.u
tah.edu/content/
begin/dna/Have%20Y
our%20DNA%20stu
dent.pdf

Do You Know H2O?

• Grades 3-8
• Water Molecule
– With Styrofoam
– Older groups: explain
why molecule is H2O
(electrons!)
• Water Experiments

Body Movin’
• Grades 4-7
• Human body
activities
• Learn how tendons
move hands
• Brain
• Bones
• Digestive system

44
Seed Balls
• All ages
• Earth Science
• Gardening fun!
• Clay helps to protect
seeds and conserve
moisture, soil provides
nutrients, seeds
stimulated when it
rains.

Space
• All ages
• LPI Explore programs
–
http://www.lpi.usra.ed
u/education/explore/
• NASA Apps
• Expose children and
teens
to the wonders of
space
science.
B
Brush ‘Bots
• DIY Robot
• Grades 4-8
• www.makershed.com
• STEAM Components:
– Science
– Technology

Create different types Rubber band, Levels, force, distance,

of Marshmallow, measurements
catapults and test them rubber spoon,
out. plastic bottle cap,

45
Create a machine that BCPL Rube Goldberg
completes a simple Machine:
task http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
in a more complicated qbLMNw4Hdv0
fashion. • Simple examples on
• Work together as a YouTube:
team to engineer a – http://www.youtube.com/watc
machine (series of h?v=dFWHbRApS3c
simple machines) – http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=PQ_Y545MFpc
– http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=UMOEFlso4wM

46
 – http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=eSyCDyNf5K4
Design different types
of rocket
Aerodynamics, force,
design
• Tea Rocket - fire
• PVC pipe Rocket
Launcher
• Balloon Rockets

STEAM Components
– Engineering
• Makedo:
http://mymakedo.com
/
• Marshmallow
architecture
• Geodesic Dome:
–
http://www.pbs.org/w
gbh/building
big/educator/act_geod
esic_ho.html
–
http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=
jYfszzzZg1c

Fizzy Fun - could also

incorporate vinegar &
baking soda
experiments
• Using PVC pipe,
teams
can create a super
Mentos drop.
–
http://www.stevespan
glerscience.co
m/lab/experiments/m
entos-sodapopdrop

47
 Trash to Treasure
• Spend less money by
upcycling old stuff to
create something new.

Useful websites

• STEM Works http://stem-works.com/

• Illinois Projects in Practice http://illinoisearlylearning.org/illinoispip/guides/trees.html

• STEM teaching tools http://stemteachingtools.org/

• Restoring the focus on STEM in schools initiative

https://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/restoring-focus-stem-schools-initiative

• STEM clubs activity list http://www.stemclubs.net/activity-categories/

• 40 STEM activities http://www.playdoughtoplato.com/stem-activities-for-kids/

• STEM works UK http://www.stemworks.co.uk/

48
Let the students try their hands on the following projects. Students are to figure it out, how
they will do it
PAPER AIRPLANES
PAPER COLLAGE
ROLLING VEHICLE
CONTAINER
TOBRIDGE
PARACHUTE
BOARD GAME
GREETING CARD
PLAYGROUND
ANIMAL HABITAT
CHAIN REACTION
SEVERE WEATHER SHELTER
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
COMMUNICATION DEVICE
CATAPULT
WEARABLE CREATION
BOAT
ORIGAMI
ROLLER COASTER
CLASSROOM REDESIGN
DREAM HOUSE
PLANTER
TESSELLATION/REPEATING PATTERN
3D FIGURES
GRABBING TOOL/(MASK K-1st)
JEWELRY
SNOWFLAKE
STRAW ROCKET
WEATHER TOOL
MARBLE MAZE
VISION BOARD
ZOO/THEME PARK
TRASH TO TREASURE
WORKING TOY
STOP MOTION MOVIE
GREEN SCREEN MOVIE
COMPOSE A SONG
DIGITAL COLLAGE

Compiled and Edited by

CHANGEGEAR EDU. TEAM

©2019 All rights reserved.

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