It is so important for students to learn about different scientists.  Students often have a vision of a scentist in their head as an old man with white hair in a lab coat.  

There are so many different scientists in the world and they are from many different places.  These STEM packs gives students an opportunity to learn about some different scientists while they work through different STEM engineering challenges.

I include these STEM challenges as we are working through different topics in science.

While learning about fossils, we do this challenge and we learn about Mary Anning.  Students use a sheet of bones and try to construct a dinosaur.  They have to defend their choices, much like scientists do.  Buy this pack here.

We also connect these with our literature units.  While we read The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, we also learn about Dian Fossey and construct our own life-sized mountain gorillas.  Check out this pack here.

There are other STEM Scientist packs in my store!  You can browse through all of them in my tpt store, just go to my store and search for "STEM Scientists".

June 23rd is National Hydration Day!

This is a great time to teach kids about the importance of water!  This could include reasons why we need to drink water, the things we can do to help conserve water, and how people can make clean water.

We are so lucky to have access to clean water here in the United States.  There are so many other places on earth where this is a luxury.  Each person needs 30-50 liters of clean water a DAY - to drink, cook, and bathe.  That is like 15-25 2-liter bottles of water!

Students can do some research about the places where people need clean water.  This really opens their eyes!  

Students can also work on making dirty water cleaner by using things like coffee filters, pieces of fabric, paper towels, etc.

Plastic water bottles are not good for our environment.  We should all work on ways to reduce or reuse our use of plastic water bottles.  They can be used in many STEM challenges!  Think about some creative ways to reuse these water bottles in the classroom!

One of my favorite new picture books is We are Water Protectors, by Carole Lindstrom.  Click here to grab a copy of the book on Amazon.

What other things can you do to learn more about water?

Growing creatures are one of my favorite things to start the year with because the students are always amazed by them!  You can find smaller growing creatures at dollar stores or on-line, but I really love the bigger ones!  These can be found as alligators, lizards, or snakes.  Since our school mascot is the gator, I hunt for the alligators at my local Dollar Tree.  They usually have them in stock!

These things get HUGE!  One of the biggest challenges is in finding a large enough container to hold the creature as it is growing!  We have used clear aquariums, but we typically use a really large clear plastic tub.  The tub is about 4 feet long and 2 feet tall!  

You can grab a pack for growing the alligators from my TPT store for just $2.00!  Click here to check it out!

We have also used growing creatures as a schoolwide STEM challenge.  I give each classroom a growing creature and the lab pack shown below.  Click here to check out this lab pack.

The classrooms love to compete with each other to see who can grow the largest creature!  For these I use the smaller growing creatures, but you can definitely use the larger ones, too!  Grab the smaller growing creatures on Amazon, ebay, or Oriental Trading Company if you want to set this up as a schoolwide challenge.

Grow some fun in your classroom this year!

BUBBLES are a really fun way to learn some science, especially in these warm weather months!  They can be found at dollar stores, grocery stores, and other places inexpensively.

Students can practice measuring the diameter, radius, and circumference of circles with bubbles!  They blow bubbles onto a sheet of dark construction paper and when the bubble pops, you have a circle!  Just trace the circle and start measuring!

You can make up your own lab sheets or you can buy my pack here.

Students can also read all about how animals use bubbles!  This is one of our favorite books!   

This book is a wonderful read aloud and it shows kids all the different ways animals use bubbles to survive.  It is also a great way to review or introduce animal adaptations!  You can grab this book on Amazon!

Students can also create their own bubble solutions and wands in order to blow their own biggest bubbles!  Just grab dish soap, water, pipe cleaners, and a few other ingredients!

You can grab a set of five STEM challenges in my TPT store!  Click here to buy this set of challenges!

There are also monthly bubble challenges in my store and lots of other bubble related items!  Click here to check all of them out in my TPT store!

Get ready to blow some bubbles and learn a lot!

Today is National Milk Day!  Schools have one of the best STEM materials - MILK CARTONS!  Think about different ways you can use milk carton for small or large STEM projects.  

Here are some ideas of things to make with milk cartons...

- make an animal

- make your school mascot

- build a tower

- build a house

- make a roller coaster

- make a bug box

- make a 3D name (your name, the school name, etc.)

Check out this STEM challenge pack in my TPT store if you like this one!  Click here to buy the pack.

Celebrate this fun day and reuse those empty milk cartons!

I'm sure a lot of you are doing a lot of your holiday shopping online which means a lot of BOXES!  While I like to reuse and recycle, I really like to cut up the boxes into flat pieces for STEM challenges!  

I bought a $10 Slice Box Cutter from Amazon (well worth it if you have a lot of boxes).  I cut the top flaps first, then slice open the bottom and cut the sides off.  You end up with a pile of cardboard sheets!  I am alsways looking for cardboard sheets for our STEM challenges!  I store these cardboard sheets in a large clear plastic tub with a lid!  My storage bin is 132 quart size and it is huge!  I grabbed it from my local Target store.

You will be so glad you saved all these boxes!  I actually look forward to this time of the year because all the boxes I cut up can be used throughout the next calendar year!  The storage bin helps me keep these cardboard sheets neat in my own classroom!

Start saving those boxes and turning them into cardboard sheets now!

  

While you can use found objects in most STEM @ Home projects, you can also use natural materials!  In this age of digital or virtual teaching and learning a walk outside could probably do all of us some good!  Especially in the fall, there are things everywhere for kids to grab and use for STEM challenges!

Here is a list of some of the things you can find...

- pincones

- various nuts

- leaves, leaves, and more leaves

- sticks, twigs, logs

- rocks

- grass

- flowers

- mulch

- old bird nests

- weeds

Depending on where you live, there are things that you can pick up and use everywhere outside!

I usually tell my kids to grab a baggie, talk a nature walk, and start collecting things.  I do this the day of the STEM challenge since most things do not stay "fresh" for long!

Add some natural items to your STEM challenge materials today!