STEM Projects For At-Home Learning
Why? Why? Why? Here’s a haunting question by the kids, one can never truly finish answering, and what a daunting task it is! But this is curiosity, plain and simple, and it’s something to be nurtured and grown and not something to be dwindled out! During these trying times of being home and staying safe no matter how much yearns for the outside, indoor activities and projects can truly help in keeping the spirits, morale, curiosity and enthusiasm for learning in children well lit and fueled! STEM standing, for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics provide such a vast scope for kids to discover the world within their homes, as these are subjects that govern our everyday lives from the process of breathing, to keeping count of the money we spend! This arena is increasingly becoming popular areas of study owing to their importance and relevance in gaining a strong foothold in our future. So let’s check out some fun STEM activities that can be enjoyable to both parents and their kids alike, making sure that their curiosity for learning stays fostered and is given a chance to develop! Here’s a list of fun STEM activities for kids to help aid their at home learning!
SCIENCE
- Let’s Get Rid of Germs!
Here’s a fun little experiment using three very simple daily ingredients (water, pepper and soap) from the pantry to teach a valuable lesson to your kids! This experiment provides a tactical way to teach your kids the benefits of washing their hands thoroughly with soap while also dishing in with the science behind it!
Step 1: Mix some powdered pepper with water in a bowl. These powdered pepper particles are the germs!
Step 2 Let your kids touch it with a finger gently. See what happens! (It gets on their fingers, eeeh germs!)
Step 3 Now ask them to dip a clean finger into some soap, and then dip into the bowl with the pepper and water! Here’s when the magic happens, the germs (pepper) scatters away!
The link to the demonstration of this fun, educational experiment can be found here and the science behind it, here (just as important), this experiment allows parents to help their kids learn about hand hygiene and also broach the topic of hydrophobicity and surface tension!
2. DIY DNA Extraction
DNA is the hereditary material that is present in almost all life forms! It tells our cells, tissues, organs and the entire body, how to be, what to do and when to do it! As majestic as this bundle of information sounds, it is so minute that it’s invisible to the naked eye and it’s extraction is normally a very laborious process that requires a lab! But, what if you could extract DNA within the comforts of your very own home? Well that’s what we propose here! Watch this fun tutorial to see how you can extract the genetic material from fruits like strawberries or even papayas with help of a few simple products like dishwashing liquid, rubbing alcohol, water and some strawberries or papayas!
Check the link to find out the steps and start your fun learning science!
TECHNOLOGY
- Stop Motion Animation
Kids always on their gadgets or in front of the TV? How about we turn that into a positively educational affair? Kids nowadays love animations and cartoons, so what if they could make a short animated movie with the help of their parents? Sounds impossible? Well, worry not! It’s actually easy and the perfect activity to teach the kids the educational aspect of technology and how they can develop their hobbies into careers in the future!
Check out this link to find out how to make a simple stop motion animation with some toys, a backdrop and a smartphone!
2. Brush Bots
Here’s a fun activity for the kids to explore under parental guidance, making one’s very own robot! And all you need is a brush, a cup, a coin battery and a small vibrating motor (bought or from your old electric toothbrush!). Find out here how these seemingly ordinary items can pave the way for your kids and their curiosities to learn more about the world of bots and the technology that makes them function! Since this activity involves small batteries and motors, it is crucial that it be carried out with the supervision of a parent!
ENGINEERING
- Build-A-Bridge
Marvelous connectors aren’t they? Making travel easier and giving amazing views en route? Well, they require a lot of brilliant engineer minds to come together to make this engineering miracle come true! What if this lesson could be imparted to kids as well? What if they could learn the fundamentals they need to know about the engineering and construction of bridges from the home? Who says at home learning has to be limited? Our imaginations can be limitless and homemade bridges can tether them and make it a reality for the kids!
Click here to find out how few craft sticks and some glue can help ignite the minds of the young to engineering!
2. Hand Crank Winch
This is a fun little project to help the children learn that engineering lies in every facet of our lives, be it in tightening a screw, or pulling up a bucket of water! Build a hand crank winch to find out how physics and engineering can come together even in a simple machinery like this can make lives easier and be yet another fun activity to introduce kids to the artsy side of engineering!
Click the link to find out the instructions on how to make a simple hand crank winch with some toilet paper rolls, some string and other recyclables!
MATHEMATICS
- Hundred Chart Puzzle
Math and numbers are turned into a puzzle game where the kids have to arrange the puzzle in the right order to get the numbers from 1–100 (or more) in the right order! This helps them have a better visual understanding of what numbers come one after another and helps in the development of their cognitive skills. Check out this website and see how the game is played with the help of a few sketch pens and some colorful charts!
2. Math Hunt
This is a fun way to introduce mathematics to the kids to keep it entertaining especially if your child is a bundle of pure energy! The game involves putting up mathematical questions all around the house and for every question they solve, they get a clue that brings them closer to the treasure they hunt! This fun little activity can ensure that your child gets their scholarly duties fulfilled whilst getting a chance to play! Check out this link to see how the game is played and how you can make math more interesting for your child!
With these above mentioned activities parents can successfully introduce their kids to the fun and scholastic world of learning from the comforts of their home whilst never having a dull moment! These activities and projects can light up your children’s minds to further possibilities and ideas, ensuring that in the future they know the field they’d love to explore as careers. So join your children in building these fun activities to help them realize that learning science, technology, engineering and mathematics, can begin from their very own homes at a very young age!
