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Have items in your school STEAM room that you need some help with? Or that you want some extra links to? Look no further! This page is here to give you links to items you could purchase for your STEAM rooms as well as projects and ideas you can do with those items!
Share with us too! If you have videos of lessons you created for your STEAM room, worksheets/handouts for certain STEAM room projects that you are willing to share or any other ideas, please email rgreenwald@orangeusd.org or share them on Google Drive!
Interested in bringing in some instructors to your STEAM Room? Here is some information on Child Creativity Lab. They have multiple programs available for your sites, including PD for teachers, STEAM kits for students, and Makerspace on Wheels Workshops!
MakerSpace Wish Lists - Need new materials or want to start collecting some items for your MakerSpace areas?
Here is a list that has the top 45 items you would want to stock your STEAM room with - Feel free to make a copy and use it as a Wish List for your School, or just print it out. Spanish translation is available on the second page.
1) Back to School Night, Open House, STEAM Night, Literacy Night, etc. - Have your Wish Lists out and available so parents can see what you want! You can even make a STEAM Room Wish Tree - here are some leaves ready to go!
2) Amazon Wish Lists - Make them realistic and affordable, you might be surprised at what you'll get!
3) Donation Drives - Ask and Ye Shall Receive!
4) "Trash" Collection - One family's trash is a School's Treasure! Half-used masking tape? Take it! Don't need the rest of that yarn - we will!
STEAM Room Books/Library
Want to add some STEAM specific books to your STEAM room or library? Here is an ever growing list! If you have some to add, just email me to let me know of a title to add to it! These are all books that are about inventions, perseverance, engineering, and more! Many were added to SORA, and there is a curated STEAM book list in SORA too! Find it here!
Here is a set of 70 STEAM Career Cards that you, or your school site, can use for your classroom or STEAM room. This should only be used for OUSD classrooms or STEAM Rooms! Thank you!
Robot Alphabet Crafts.pdfRobot Alphabet
Robot Alphabet
What an adorable alphabet to add to the STEAM Room (or your own classroom)! Created by Little Bins for Little Hands, have some of your students (of all ages!) make these Alphabet Robots! They can look like the picture, or they can make their own! Copy extra letters for their names, your school site, the word "STEAM LAB" or more!
Feel free to use these to get those creative juices flowing in your Maker Space areas!
Create a LEGO station!
If you have some buckets of loose LEGO bricks, get them building some fun things. Not sure what they want to build?
Here are some LEGO Challenge Cards to help you out.
STEAM Challenge Cycle.pdfA set of two posters to add to your walls! This goes through the STEAM Challenge Cycle. First page is the cycle, second page has more of the explanation of each part of the cycle. This should only be used for OUSD classrooms or STEAM Rooms!
Here is a great generic template to use if you are doing an Engineering Activity. Feel free to copy and use, or take it and tweak it to use however you may need to in your own classroom.
Need an idea of a STEAM Challenge to do? Head over to the OUSD STEAM Challenge Site!
PRINTABLES
PRINTABLES
Growth Mindset Posters and Coloring Sheets
GrowthMindsetPostersColoringSheetsFREEBIE.pdf
STEAM Coloring Page
This is great for any grade for a first day in the STEAM Room or first week of school while talking about what STEAM stands for. Color away!
STEAM_ColoringPage.pdfSeeNotice.pdfSee/Notice/Think/Wonder Sheet
How Many Ways.pdfHow Many Ways? Set
STEAM-Storytelling-prompts.pdfSTEAM Storytelling Prompts - use for writing, brainstorming ideas, starters for a makerspace project, and more!
From Little Bins for Little Hands
Jump start their creativity! For any and all grades - read the book Not a Box (or watch the video here) and then use these pages for some fun activities.
Want more fun? The author has a second book, Not a Stick - read the book (or watch the video here) and let their creativity shine! Here are two drawing prompts from the author's website (#1 and #2) and see what your kids come up with!
Dreaming Up is an amazing story to celebrate buildings! Not only does it show multiple examples of architects from all over the world, but it also has a fun way to tell the story on each page. This is could be a great addition to your STEM collection (or even a fun Sub Plan addition!) Here is the best video version. This website has a great Teacher's guide with many activities.
Want More Read Alouds and Activities?
Go here! Look for the PD Section. More coming for the 2025-2026 school year!
Robots, Coding, and Other Fun Things!
Robots, Coding, and Other Fun Things!
Bee-Bot
Bee-Bot
Can be used with any grade, but geared toward primary
Mats available with pictures (use for beginning/middle/ending sounds, etc.), letters, etc.
Directions - Press the ↑ or ↓ arrow buttons for the Bee-Bot to move. The ↶ and ↷ buttons make it turn in place.
It is programmed for the large mats and large squares - If you want to create your own mat or poster, make sure the squares are 15cm x 15 cm - Bee-Bot only moves in 15 cm increments.
Want kids to practice or use online before going in with the REAL Bee-Bots? https://beebot.terrapinlogo.com - Bee-Bot online simulation!
For upper uses, think about…
Equivalent fractions - call out a fraction and they program it to go to an equivalent fraction
Multiplying/Dividing - call out a problem, they go to the answer
Vocabulary - call out a definition, they go to the word
Coordinate planes (start Bee-Bot on a line instead of a square)
Multiplication Tables practice
Ozobot
Ozobot
Ozobot.com has free Classroom lessons (so many lessons!) and you can create free teacher accounts
Good for late 2nd grade - upper grade
Can use with marker coding or online coding (OzoBlockly)
Markers - only Crayola or Ozobot markers should be used
Be VERY deliberate with explaining the width of the line - Ozobot is picky. Not too thin, not too thick.
Follow color code cards and use only plain white paper
Follow the black line cards and show the students the different widths - have them practice one white paper
Feel free to print/use these to help: Ozobot How To and Meet Ozzie the Ozobot
Some ideas:
Have Ozobot tell a story (students have it follow a path, as it moves the student tells their narrative)
Ozobot follows a path, when it stops or follows a code, students pick a card and complete a math problem
A center example with multiplication, can be with any type of problem and code
Dash and Dot
Dash and Dot
Dash (larger robot) and Dot (smaller one) are both coding robots
There are 5 iPad apps you can use - each one has a different level and purpose for your coding needs.
Students can also code Dash and Dot through their Chromebooks.
The apps have puzzles that Dash can work through.
Cubelets
Cubelets
Cubelets are robot blocks designed to get students problem solving, collaborating, and working right out of the box. No computer coding or anything is needed, but it can be added.
There are three categories of blocks - Sense, Think, and Act
Cubes link together and can be designed to do multiple things. There are many unique blocks - they can make the robot move, light up, make sounds, sense changes in temperature and distance, detect light and more.
Here is an Introduction to Cubelets if you want to look through it and here is a great introduction video on what Cubelets are and how to use them.
littleBits
littleBits
littleBits are colorful modular electronic Bits. They snap together easily using small magnets to build fully-fledged and functioning inventions. The kits help make learning about circuitry and electronics fun.
Students learn how the bits work because each one is color coded according to its function:
Blue: power components that connect to a 9-volt battery
Pink: input bits allowing the creator to control the circuit
Green: output bits creators use to make the circuit perform a specific task
Orange: wire components creators can use to extend the circuit
These kits are best for 3rd grade and up.
Bitopedia - Website that has all the different types of Bits and their functions
Sphero site also has multiple resources available.
LEGO
LEGO
Along with our BricQ and Spike Prime and Essential... get a collection of good old regular Lego bricks!
Want to get a large set of regular bricks?
Ask parents to donate small amounts of Lego to the school - a few small bags will easily add up to a large bucket perfect for the STEAM room
Donors Choose
Thrift stores and Yard Sales
Let the students create! Lego believes in Learning Through Play - this is a great time to let them talk, problem solve, collaborate, communicate and more!
Sphero
Sphero indi
Sphero has many different coding robots available for students:
indi is geared toward the youngest - color cards are placed down and indi rolls over them and senses the color. The color tells indi to turn, go straight, etc. Apps and devices aren't necessary, but can be added.
Mini is the next size up, about the size of a golf ball, but this does use an app. This one is more game oriented and teaches the basics of coding through driving and gaming with the small mini ball.
BOLT is a bit larger, their most popular. It can do more advanced coding, but it is the same concept - a ball that can be coded to go through mazes, to move through a path, or anything else you can think of.
Sphero.com has everything you need!
Forward Education - Climate Action Kits
Forward Education - Climate Action Kits
Forward Education's Climate Action Kits are for 3rd - 12th grades; the lessons are aligned with NGSS standards, Math standards and Computer Science standards.
The included online lessons have a teacher led instructional piece (with videos and slides) as well as a building and coding component using a microbit (not included, but can be purchased from them as well).
Some of the lessons are also available in Spanish and French.
A Class Pack is 10 kits. If you'd like to see a kit, or want more information on purchasing (I can forward you our contact), email Rochelle.
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