Vivify STEM Blog
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!
Space Lander Mission
Last year, I started a new Space Club program at four middle schools. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, I searched the web for ideas and curriculum to implement. I soon became excited to find great resources like NASA and TeachEngineering, but I was also overwhelmed as a simple Google search for "Space STEM activities" gives you a mere 89 million hits. Wading through a lot of junk eventually brought some gems that I could implement, and I leave it to another post to rant about the lack of quality in many activities that claim to be "STEM."
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.