The movement of adding STEM learning into the classrooms in the U.S. started with wanting to get kids back into the science and math side of learning. Now, it is a whole movement for every child to rediscover their love of any subject outside of gym class or recess.
STEM activities let children figure out how the world and things in their everyday lives work. It doesn’t matter what career or field your child might want to go in one day, the skills and knowledge learned from STEM activities can be carried over into any area. Here are some easy, fun, and fascinating STEM activities for kids they can do whenever they feel curious about life.
What is STEM?
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and is used as an educational umbrella term for this group of subjects. The acronym came into use in the early 1990s, and today has many variations, like GEMS, which stands for girls in engineering, math, and science, MINT, which is for mathematics, informatics, natural sciences, and technology, and STEAM, which is a newer update to incorporate the arts, and stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
The purpose of STEM is to encourage children to develop skills needed in those related fields by focusing on collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. It takes the child’s curiosity in these areas and prepares them for the careers of today once they are out of the classroom.
What is a STEM activity?
You can make almost anything a STEM activity for kids. It is all about a hands-on approach to a child figuring out how something works. Has your child asked you how something random works? Has your kid ever asked what happens if you run over a stick of butter? Or what happens if you blow bubbles in freezing temperatures outside? Let your child’s wildest questions become a STEM activity to build their confidence about how the world works.
STEAM activities for the outdoors
Rock sculptures
Children love rocks, so why not take that passion and let them make something awesome? Let the kids gather rocks of various sizes and shapes and make sculptures, patterns, towers, and whatever else their imagination comes up with. If you can do the activity in your yard, they can see how it changes over time.
Create a critter hotel
This one needs to be a little thought out by the parents to ensure only the helpful pollinators take up residence in the hotel. But combining a child’s love of bugs and insects and giving the good ones a safe space to hang out is a win-win for everyone. From butterflies to ladybugs, have your child pick one or two they would love to move into the yard and have them build a cozy home for them.
Build a nest
There is nothing like watching a mother squirrel or mama bird watch over their young and nest. To help these creatures think of your yard as a safe place to live, have your child find out what materials would make a good nest, find a suitable spot in the yard, and let them put one together to see if the animals take to it.
Bug duty
Take your child outside and let them do what they love to do — play with bugs. They can observe what insects are in their own yard, record what they look like, take pictures, note what bugs come out at what time of the day, and do anything else that they find interesting.
STEAM activities without a lot of materials
Make paper airplanes
This one always gets competitive, but that’s part of the fun. From seeing whose can go the farthest and whose can stay in the air the longest to whose can do loops, the possibilities of variations are endless with the fun of a paper airplane.
Make a paper bridge
Making bridges is a fun engineering activity that you can do with only a few materials like construction paper, tape, something to put on the bridge, and something to set the bridge on. Let your child see how big or small, heavy or light of a bridge they can make.
Make a paper chain
We all had to make paper chains in school for decorations, but it seems as if it’s not done as much in the classroom anymore. Bring back the nostalgia for yourself and make paper chains with your child. You could do colors to match holidays or just let your child use their favorite colors. Not only will this leave you with fun decor for the house, but your child will learn how to cut, glue, create a pattern, and see if their measurements work out.
Easy and fun STEM activities
Coding
From Roblox Studio to ScratchJr, there are plenty of free coding apps and programs for kids to learn how to make programs and create stories or games. Not only does it give your child a way to express themselves and create their own world, but coding is something your child can carry with them as they grow up. Who knows, maybe your child will make the next big app or game, all because they got into coding.
Create a marble run
Marble runs are fun for all ages, even the parents. Kids can make a flat marble run, or if you don’t mind stuff taped to the wall, they can see how big they can make it and add all kinds of twists and turns.
STEM activities are more than science experiments. They are a way for your child to apply their curiosity about the world to real-life applications to better their knowledge of what happens in everyday life. These skills learned through STEM activities will be valuable as they grow up and become members of society. They will be better equipped, no matter what field or career they go into.
