Welcome to Vivify’s Blog!
Scientific Method vs. Engineering Design Process: Which is used in STEM learning?
Are you a STEM teacher? Confused on what process to use in your classroom? Or perhaps you need a refresher on the scientific method versus the engineering design process. Read on for an overview of each, how they are used in the real world and our view of which process is best for STEM education.
STEM Family Night Planning Guide
STEM Family Nights are awesome! They generate excitement for STEM in your school and community by allowing students, teachers, and families to explore STEM together in a fun way! I planned my first STEM Night this past November, and after a big success, we planned three more! We worked with each middle school campus to create a family night that best fit the school culture, and we were excited to have over 400 participants engaged in activities each night. We got the whole school involved from administrators, teachers, coaches, student organizations, and parents to put on a meaningful night of STEM exploration. Want to plan your own night? Read on to learn how!
The Importance of Failure
When you hear the word “FAILURE”, what comes to mind? What feelings surface? Failure is something adults face often; for example, in our jobs when we fail to meet a deadline, in our relationships when we fail to act appropriately to situations, and in our homes when we fail to get chores accomplished or items fixed, to name a few. How a person responds to failure, and more importantly, how one goes on to succeed may be based on how he or she is conditioned at a young age.
STEM in Sports
The Super Bowl is almost here! While I am planning to consume large amounts of buffalo wings and chips and dip, I am reminded that there is more that goes into this monumental day in America than just good entertainment. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), is present in every aspect of this beloved game. This truth provides a wonderful opportunity to get kids involved in an early love of STEM.
Top 10 STEM Video Resources
Exciting videos are a great hook for engaging students into a STEM lesson. Videos can allow students to meet STEM professionals, tour a STEM facility, learn about exciting STEM real-world applications, and really help bring STEM to life. Below are the top 10 more useful STEM video resources for your classroom or after school program. Most include videos with short duration of 1 - 3 minutes to fit easily into a classroom lesson.
Back To School One Day Sale!
Organizing classrooms, writing lesson plans, attending long professional development workshops...it is back to school season! School supply signs are everywhere, and kids are trying to squeeze in every bit of fun into the remaining summer hours. Some already started on Monday, and many more return to school next week. Read on for a back to school Vivify products and a one day sale!
Weather Balloon Launch: Preparing for Launch Day
As the launch day approached, we started getting nervous! How were we going to pull this off? So many variables seemed to be out of our control so we focused on what we could control. Preparation is key! Here are some highlights as we prepared for the balloon launch:
Weather Balloon Launch: What happens to bacon at 100,000 feet?
To begin our journey of launching a weather balloon, I started with a quick YouTube search of “weather balloon launch” leading to over 17,000 results. I was amazed at the incredible footage and especially by what people sent to the stratosphere: paint balls, marshmallows, action figures, bacon, crickets, beer, and even a hamburger! You can check out the footage of the “10 Weird Things Humans Have Sent to the Stratosphere” here.
Weather Balloon Launch: An Introduction
What can be more exciting than launching a balloon into near-space and seeing footage of the Earth from above? In a series of posts, I will chronicle the adventures of 2 science teachers, 1 aerospace engineer (that's me!), and 50 middle school students in San Antonio attempting to launch a balloon and payload over 100,000 ft! As a first time adventure for all involved, this has been an exciting, engaging, and frustrating experience managing the logistics of launching along with the attention span of middle-schoolers! Above all, it has been a worth-while journey for students to experience a real-world engineering project with all the design challenges and failures along the way. Read on for our adventure to the edge of space.
Catapult Challenge
After years of STEM activities, including towers, bridges, race cars, and rockets, one of my favorites is the classic catapult challenge! It incorporates all aspects of a quality STEM activity: easy math connection, engineering design process, student-driven learning, and hands-on fun! Read on to see my ideas to incorporate into your classroom.