K-2 STEM Activities

Facilitator: Dr. Bruce Ellis (@DrBruceEllis)

Session Description

We’ll share a variety of STEM ideas that you can use in your K-2 classroom, as well as people you’ll want to follow for ideas and inspiration.

My favorites!

Add copper tape, a battery and small LED lights to student work to make great cards!

Make use of those old CDs by having students create hovercrafts that need to cross the desert!

Follow the recipe to make slime...but take it to the next step - make a bouncy ball!

Using a balloon and some salt, you can have kids excited and talking about static electricity.

Though we may not like to eat them, they make awesome batteries!

Yes, you heard it right - hot ice! Actually it is crystals forming very quickly.

Boats can be made out of just foil or you can add cups, straws, tape, and more. But, how much can they hold?!

This experiment combines warm milk and vinegar. As the proteins break down the milk becomes like plastic!

After reading the TRUE Story of the 3 Little Pigs, students create houses and try to withstand a hair dryer.

Use fairy tales and other stories that your students will be reading as the foundation of STEM.

STEM standards

American Society for Engineering Education - Here you will find the K-12 STEM Guidelines for All Americans. Each dimension is defined as to what the student understands and is able to do.

Arizona Dept. of Education - standards supporting STEM are provided as well as additional resources for professionals.

K-5 STEM Standards Framework - Created by the Tennessee DOE, this framework defines several course standards that may be helpful to educators: Problem-Resolution Skills, Critical Thinking in Context, Cause and Effect Relationships between STEM Disciplines, and STEM Fields Exploration.

stem activities

Coffee Cups and Crayons - You'll find a lot of activities to use in your classroom! Consider signing up for her free newsletter!

*Dabble Dabble Do - Ana has tons of activities for you to consider using. You can search by science, engineering, as well as other ways!

Edutopia - Lots of great articles to read to round out your STEM learning!

Erintegration - Erin is a technology integration enthusiast. You'll also want to check out all of her posts for great tech-in-the-classroom ideas and how-to's.

*Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls - You'll enjoy Sarah's ideas and STEM projects that she shares. Since these are written for doing at home, consider sharing with your students' parents!

LEGO Magazine for Your Kids (FREE) - Sign up for a free subscription to the LEGO Magazine (and have your parents sign up their child). You will also be able to download a copy of the magazine as well.

Little Bins for Little Hands - Activities on this site are for ages 3 to 9 (and maybe a little older)! They provide great directions and printables...and even provide kits if you decide you want to purchase the supplies/activities already put together.

*Preschool Powol Packets - LOTS of great ideas here for you to use with your students!

*Science Buddies – great resources of activities. You can search by grade level or by type of science.

STEAM Powered Family - You'll find lots of fun activities, such as candy science, gummy mummies, glow-in-the-dark Jello and more, to do with your kids.

STEM Activities for Kids - great ideas and activities including this post, "The Nuts and Bolts of a Family STEM Event"

Teach Engineering - Explore this free K-12 curriculum by browsing through curricular units, lessons, maker challenges, and activities.

The Science Kiddo - This author shares some great activities that you'll definitely want to use with your students!

the STEM laboratory - You'll enjoy all the great activities for Pre-K, Kinder, and 1st grade!

people to follow

Online groups to join

STEM Activities & Projects for Kids (FB - 8K members - 10+ posts/day)

Elementary STEM Teachers Club (FB - 4.4K members - 10+ posts/day)

Robotics and STEM For All (FB - 1.6K members - 6 posts/day)

STEM Teachers Group (FB - 20K members - 10+ posts/day)

Girl Scout STEM (FB - 5.4K members - 2 posts/day)

Robotic Toys & STEM Education (FB - 6.4K members - 10+ posts/day)

STEM Connections for K-12 Education (LinkedIn - 27K members)

STEM ER (Educators & Researchers) (LinkedIn - 36K members)

STEM Education (Meetup - 28K members)

Science / STEM / STEAM activities (Meetup - 4K members)

STEM (Meetup - 57K members)

r/STEM (Reddit - 4K members)

Central Texas K-12 STEM Outreach (Google Group)

STEM & Educational Organizations

Below is a long list of organizations you can contact if you are looking to make connections with specific experts for your classroom and/or looking for more ideas on how to make STEM relevant for your students.

American Association for the Advancement of Science - www.aaas.org

American Association of Engineering Societies - www.aaes.org

American Chemical Society - www.acs.org

American Chemistry Council - www.americanchemistry.com

American Indian Science and Engineering Society - www.aises.org

American Institute of Biological Sciences - www.aibs.org

American Institute of Chemical Engineers - www.aiche.org

American Mathematical Society - www.ams.org

American Society for Engineering Education - www.asee.org

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers - www.asabe.org

American Society of Civil Engineers - www.asce.org

Association for Women in Computing - www.awc-hq.org

Association for Women in Science - www.awis.org

Association of American Indian Physicians - www.aaip.org

Association of Women in Mathematics - www.awm-math.org

Council for Chemical Research - www.ccrhq.org

Department of Education - www.ed.gov

Department of Energy - www.energy.gov

MAES – Latinos in Science and Engineering - www.maes-natl.org

Math and Science Partnership Network - www.mspnet.org

National Academy of Engineering - www.nae.edu

National Academy of Science - www.nasonline.org

National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering - www.nacme.org

National Association of Research and Science Teaching - www.narst.org

National Council of Teachers in Mathematics - www.nctm.org

National Science Teachers Association - www.nsta.org

National Society for Black Engineers, Inc. - www.nsbe.org

National Society of Black Physicists - www.nsbp.org

National Society of Professional Engineers - www.nspe.org

National Technical Association, Inc. - www.ntaonline.org

Society for Science and the Public - www.societyforscience.org

Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science - www.sacnas.org

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers - www.shpe.org

Society of Women Engineers - www.swe.org

STEM Education Coalition - www.stemedcoalition.org

The Education Trust - www.edtrust.org

The International Society for Technology in Education - www.iste.org

The Mathematical Association of America - www.maa.org

The National Alliance of State Science and - Mathematics Coalition - www.nassmc.org

Triangle Coalition for STEM Education - www.trianglecoalition.org

Women in Engineering ProActive Network - www.wepan.org

Women in Technology International - www.witi.com