Welcome to Vivify’s Blog!
Teaching Space Inspires Youth
Every child has looked up at the twinkling stars on a clear night and wondered about the vastness above. The night sky captures a child's imagination and leads to profound thoughts and questions about our place in the world. The need to explore and discover is a common thread among humans, and the greatest unknowns lay in the night sky above us. Giving students a window into the beauty of space and teaching the journey of humankind's exploration of other worlds is a powerful tool to inspire and engage an interest in science and engineering.
Valentine's Day STEM: Warm-ups & Activities
STEM is not about finding THE answer, as there is almost always more than one way to solve a problem. Encourage creativity while exercising those young minds! Here are some warm-up prompt ideas to get those lovely lobes thinking and in the mood for some Valentine’s Day STEM...
...In this season of love, you will also fancy the following Valentine’s Day STEM activities. These two resources will get kids excited about using their STEM skills to solve a sweet (candy!) problem and help them exercise off all of that sugar with some fun real-world math. ...
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.
Start Your Year Sitewide Sale - Wednesday and Thursday Only!
In honor of starting back to school in the new year, TeachersPayTeachers is launching a fabulous two-day sale with savings of up to 28%. Now is the time to get the best deals on all the lessons and activities still on your wish list! Never heard of TeachersPayTeachers? I highly recommend this site for amazing classroom resources for all grades made by real classroom teachers and educators. Signing up is free and the resources are endless!
STEM Conferences for Educators
Are you looking for professional development opportunities specific to STEM education? Below is a list of conferences I have attended plus ones that come recommended from colleagues. This list includes both national conferences that change location each year and ones specific to the Texas area.
Help! My Elf is Stuck on a Shelf!
With days until Christmas, kids can be bundles of restless energy! We can help you channel all that craziness with a fun Christmas themed engineering challenge that will keep your child or students entertained while learning!
Many families across the country participate in the fun tradition of the Elf on a Shelf. The elf is a magical helper that manages his naughty and nice lists by reporting back to the North Pole each night. Parents have fun placing the elf in all sorts of crazy positions each night, and kids wake up each morning looking for the elf.
Winter STEM Challenges!
Need some winter-themed STEM challenges for those last school days of December? Engineering challenges are the perfect way to channel the high energy of students before the holidays. Students can pop frozen bubbles, make fake snow, design a new Santa sleigh, or build a wrapping paper bridge!
STEMpressive Find Friday - Programming Products and Coding
In continuation of our series exploring and reviewing products relating to science, technology, engineering, and math, today we will make a quick dive into the world of computer programming and learning to code!
Common Challenges of Afterschool Robotics
Last year, I helped organize four middle school Robotics Clubs that participated in GEAR and First Lego League competitions. While I believe robotics is an amazing component of STEM education, I wanted to highlight some of the challenges we faced in creating a quality after school program. I also outlined some possible solutions to help overcome these challenges, which I am implementing this year.
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.