STEAM / STEM

Whew! This blog post has been a dream for a few years, and it is finally a reality, as I have just finished adding my 39th STEAM challenge post today. It’s been a busy summer and I was thrilled to…

We have regularly schedule Makerspace Days throughout the year. They are a great opportunity for kid engineers to utilize the skills and knowlege that they’ve been acquiring and use them create what they want to make — and take it…

In this challenge, students in grades K-5 work as a class to create six buildings for Tiny Town. The goal is to provide resources for community members, while making choices that are smart for the environment and community members (balance…

This challenge combines cardboard/recyclables engineering, business model formation, robotics, and green screen technology. All that on top of collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication. It’s chock full of learning opportunities. Click the arrow below to view and/or download the challenge…

Fun – and loud…!!! In this challenge, students choose a robot, dress it up, prepare to race. They must include a spot for 1-4 ping pong balls (depending on grade level) on their bot. The goal is to race to…

I’m almost sad that this is a once every three years challenge — because of how much fun we had (and how successful the kids were with it!). We used iPads, materials from our classroom, and the Stop Motion Studio…

For this challenge students are encouraged to create a road, town, and programmed robot that will travel the parade route.

This is a spin off of the very popular Macy’s Day Parade. Students work to create a balloon “float” for the parade. We use green screen technology to create a parade. I’ve also seen this done with robots. Next time…

We have two Glowforge lasercutters. They are definitely under utilized, but that will change, once we get a fire extinguisher added to the room for peace of mind. The one project we did complete was to make plant markers for…

The year I had 350+ tree houses in my classroom… We are fortunate to have many outdoor learning classrooms at our school/district. We have a school forest, pond, prairie, garden, one room schoolhouse, nature center log cabin, and a sugar…

One of the most frequently asked questions I get every year (and throughout the year, until it happens) is, “When’s HESS Week?” The kids just love these things! I learned about the HESS Toy Truck STEM Giveaway in 2018, during…

A great way to let loose, and still learn! Students in grades 4K-5 work with Cubelets. For 4K and 5K I limit the number/types of cubes available to them. For this challenge, students are encouraged to: Build a bot that…

Students in K-2 work as a class to create ONE newspaper sculpture that is decorated with colored cellophane paper and LED lights. Students in 3-5 work as table teams to create newspaper shoes. 4K students work to refine their cutting,…

This challenge started off as one vision and morphed as the week progressed. I don’t have this challenge scheduled on a regular basis, on our 6-year scope and sequence plan. Instead I think I’ll somehow combine this one with our…

Using marker code or block coding on Ozoblockly, students aim to knock down as many pins as possible. I recommend counting the bowling pins at the start and end of each class to be sure you have what you should…

This is a once-every-six-years challenge and once completed, we showcase our inventions/creations during Family STEAM Night. Each class creates ONE invention and works collaboratively throughout the challenge. The steps are as follows: Brainstorm/Draft Ideas Sort Ideas Into Like Categories Choose…

I’ve been wanting to give this idea a try and this year was finally the year! The kids love it. We started with just ONE robot (Meeberbots — and they’re really great for it), but then as the week progressed,…

We have two schoolwide challenges that we do every year. Mechanimals is one we did during the 2019-20 school year and it’s definitely a keeper! For this challenge, each class works as ONE TEAM to create one animal that lights…

This is a two day project. Each grade level starts off on day one building a marble run using grade-specific materials. 4K: Cardboard Tubes 5K: Playdough 1st: Duplo Blocks 2nd: LEGO Bricks 3rd: Pegboards 4th: K’Nex 5th: KEVA Planks The…

An obstacle course (or Fun Park) for Robots? Why not!!?? We’ve done this challenge a few different ways: Using Edison Robots ONLY Using Meeperbot Robots ONLY Using a Variety of Robots all at Once Moving forward, we will do this…