STEM for Kids: STEM for Tweens

STEM projects on a budget! Children create plant necklaces, square bubbles, and compasses -- using inexpensive materials or items easily found at home! Check out some library books to try more projects on a budget!

Try at Home:

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Free online tutorials are available to teach you how to code!

Try at Home:

• Hour of Code - try a one-hour online tutorial, or learn "unplugged" coding with ready-to-go activities!
• Scratch - create stories, games, and animations
• Tynker - coding courses and challenges

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The information below can be used to replicate the activities from this program and to take the exploration even further with additional experiments and more in-depth information.  Some resources require an Alvin Sherman Library card for access (indicated with *).

Try at Home:

The Edison robot is a fun, easy way to learn about robotics. They are LEGO compatible so you can get really creative! We sumo wrestled our robots - what else could you do with and Edison?

The LEGO Mindstorm is another source for customizable robots! 

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Try one of these fun engineering challenges to build, create, and explore! 

Try at Home:

• Invent your own Rube Goldberg Machine
• Design and build traps! Framed and Counted Instant Challenge Instructions (Source: Cre8iowa)
• Construct marble mazes and labyrinths using modeling clay, crayons, cardboard tubes, and more! 

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Try at Home*:

*parental supervision required

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The information below can be used to replicate the activities from this program and to take the exploration even further with additional experiments and more in-depth information.  Some resources require an Alvin Sherman Library card for access (indicated with *).

Try at Home:

• Science in Context provides a variety of resources on the Gopher tortoise.  Click here to read magazine, journal and newspaper articles and see images.*
• The Gopher Tortoise Council provides educational resources and ideas for ways you can help Gopher Tortoise conservation efforts.
• The burrow of the Gopher Tortoise is critical to the survival of many of Florida's other native animals.  Click here and here to check out a real burrow.
• "Whether you have an apartment balcony or a 20-acre farm, you can create a beautiful garden that attracts wildlife and helps restore habitat in commercial and residential areas." Visit the National Wildlife Federation's Garden for Wildlife website for information and opportunities.
• If you find injured wildlife, do you know who to call? "South Florida Wildlife Center's mission is to protect wildlife through rescue, rehabilitation, and education," and they're right around the corner!
• Join the Wildlife Watch!  Sign up and record your wildlife observations to help scientists track the health and behavior of Florida's plant species and wildlife!
• Offer bird-nesting materials in your garden!

The following books illustrate properties of motion and force, including wind, static electricity, and friction. Check out a book from the library to try an experiment at home!

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Children explored different scientific principles inspired by animals that are active at night.

Bat Flyers: Improve a flying design using basic materials (popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, etc.).

Bioluminescence: Determine which source of light most resembles that of a firefly's: chemiluminescence (glow sticks), fluorescence (UV beads), or phosphorescence (tonic water / highlighter in water). 

Owl Prey: Dissect owl pellets and use a chart to discover what animal the owl ate.

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Learn more about the properties of matter by experimenting with liquids, solids, and gases!

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The information below can be used to replicate the activities from this program and to take the exploration even further with additional experiments and more in-depth information.  Some resources require an Alvin Sherman Library card for access (indicated with *).

Try at Home:

Super Absorbent Polymers and paper snowflakes may be a close as we can get to having snow here in South Florida!

• From the USDA to diapers- a brief history of super absorbent polymers.
• There are many kinds of polymers.  Click here for experiments with a variety of polymer types and to learn about their chemical make-up. *
• Cutting out paper snowflakes using these patterns is fun and challenging!
• Diaper Magic- Perform this polymer magic trick to astound and bewilder your friends!

The information below can be used to replicate the activities from this program and to take the exploration even further with additional experiments and more in-depth information.  Some resources require and Alvin Sherman Library card for access (indicated with *).

Try at Home:

• Gale database Science In Context provides excellent follow-up experiments that can easily be carried out with everyday household items.*
• Thomas Edison patented the phonograph and the first talking doll. Listen to an eerie recording of this not-so-popular children's toy from the 1890s!
• The screaming cup is a simple and fun way to create spooky sounds! How many different sounds can you make by changing the variables in this fun and easy experiment?

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Build a comet on a stick, create a solar system necklace to scale, and investigate phases of the moon!

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Children can practice their science skills in a fun series of challenges! Examples include:

• Race Car (inclined planes, forces)
• Ice Cube Lift (freezing point)
• Salt Racers (friction)
• Penny Pipettes (surface tension)

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Why is soap so good at cleaning?

Learn more about the properties of soap, including surfactant (surface acting agent) molecules, which lower the surface tension of water-- making the water easier to move around and spread the soap. Soap also contains parts that are hydrophilic (water-loving) and hydrophobic (water-hating). The hydrophobic parts attract lipids like oils and fats, removing them from dirty hands and dishes; and then the hydrophilic parts allow the oils and fats to be washed away when you rinse with water! 

Key Vocabulary

Surfactant: a surface-acting substance (such as a detergent)

Surface tension: the force that causes the molecules on the surface of a liquid to be pushed together and form a layer; the ability of a substance to stick to itself and pull itself together

Hydrophilic: water-loving; attracted to water

Hydrophobic: water-hating; repelled by water

Lipid: a substance that contains fat and is an important part of living cells

Try at Home:

Try a milk swirl chemistry experiment to see how adding detergent affects fatty substances like the ones found in milk! 

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