Family STEM Night Activities

Catapult Homerun Derby

Create a catapult and launch a pom pom ball! Then measure the distance that your pom pom flew.

Designing Our World


In this activity, you will learn and think about how we design the world we live in!

Engineer Design Challenge

Choose to design and build either bleachers for the Smokies Stadium or a bridge for Dollywood. Build your design to see how much weight it will hold!

Shapes on the Playground

Have you ever noticed all the shapes on a playground? In this activity, you will get to find shapes on a playground and make your own collage!

Cougar Cash

Enjoy deciding how you would spend tickets on fun activities in your community such as ziplining at Adrenaline Park!

Sneaky Shapes Scavenger Sort

Shapes are all around us! Go on a scavenger hunt in your house to find objects that have different kinds of shapes.

Saturday at the Smokies Stadium

If you could go to a Smokies baseball game, what would you spend your money on at the concession stand? Decide what food you would buy with the money provided.

Catapult Homerun Derby

Create a catapult and launch a pom pom ball! Then measure the distance that your pom pom flew.

Materials Needed:

  • Pom poms

  • Plastic spoon

  • 4 popsicle sticks

  • 3 rubber bands

  • 2 sheets of green paper

Intro Video

IMG_2699.mov

Wrap-Up Video

[Untitled Wed Mar 10 2021 195122 GMT-0500 (Eastern Standard Time)].mp4

Designing Our World

In these activities, you will learn and think about how we design the world we live in!

Materials Needed:

  • Paper or notecards

  • Crayons

Activity #1

Engineer Design Challenge

Choose to design and build either bleachers for the Smokies Stadium or a bridge for Dollywood. Build your design to see how much weight it will hold!

Materials Needed:

  • Toothpicks

  • Marshmallows

  • Popsicle sticks

  • Engineer Design Plan Handout (see below)

  • Crayons

Engineer Design Handout

Engineer Design Challenge

Engineering Task Step-by-Step Instructions


Step 1: First think about how you could build a bridge or bleachers with the materials that you have been given. Below are pictures of bleachers and bridges that may help you think of some ideas.


Step 2: Draw some of your ideas in the design space on your handout.


Step 3: Use your creative mind to build a bridge or bleachers with your materials (toothpicks, marshmallows, and popsicle sticks)!


Step 4: Find a few items around your home that you think your bridge or bleachers can hold up, and test these items out by placing them on your creation.


Step 5: On your handout write down or draw the items that your bridge or bleachers was able to hold, and how many! If your bridge or bleachers were not able to hold anything, write that down too!


Step 6: Decide if there are any changes that you could make that may make your bridge or bleachers stronger to hold more weight.

Challenge #1: Build Bleachers for the Smokies Stadium

bleacher movie.mp4

Challenge #2: Build a Bridge for Dollywood

bridge movie.mp4

Wrap-Up Video

VID_20210312_190210.mp4

Share a picture of your model with us!

Engineering_Design_.png

Shapes on the Playground

Have you ever noticed all the shapes on a playground? In this activity, you will get to find shapes on a playground and make your own collage!

Materials:

  • Construction paper

  • White copy paper

  • Glue stick

  • Pipe cleaners

  • Q-tips

  • Crayons

  • Scissors

Instructions:

Have you ever been to Optimist Park and played on the playground? What shapes do you notice there?

There are shapes all around us, and in this activity, you are going to look closely at a playground and identify shapes you see in the picture.

  • What do you notice about this playground?

  • Do you see any shapes on this playground?

  • What do you wonder about this playground?


Use your materials to create shapes you see on the playground. You can make as many shapes as you like.


For example, you can use Q-tips to create a rectangle. This rectangle is going to be the slide on the playground at Optimist park.


Now I want you to look at this picture and make a collage of the different shapes you see on the playground. Use Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and paper to create shapes that you see on the playground. Then glue it to your construction paper. Once you have done this you can color your collage.

Intro Video

Introduction Video.mp4

Wrap-Up Video

wrapUpvideo.mp4

Cougar Cash

Enjoy deciding how you would spend tickets on fun activities in your community such as ziplining at Adrenaline Park!

Materials:

  • Cougar Cash Brochure handout

  • Cougar Tickets handout

  • Scissors


Instructions:

  • Cut out the Cougar Cash Tickets

  • Then choose to complete the Level 1 or Level 2 activity.

  • Choose how many tickets you will have. You can choose to start with between 10 and 25 tickets.

  • Read the price list for the level you chose and plan how you would spend your tickets.

  • Try it again by choosing a different level or a different amount of tickets.

Copy of FINAL Northview Primary K-1 and 2-3 Steam Night.pdf
Cougar Cash STEAM night tickets

Intro Video

Intro Video Community STEAM.mp4

Wrap-Up Video

Outro Video Community STEAM.mp4

Sneaky Shapes Scavenger Sort

Shapes are all around us! Go on a scavenger hunt in your house to find objects that have different kinds of shapes.

Materials:

  • Sneaky Shapes Scavenger Hunt Handout

Instructions:


Step 1: Choose the Scavenger Sort Chart that’s right for you!

  • You have three different scavenger charts you can choose from for this activity!

  • We suggest that you use the first chart, but start with whichever chart is most comfortable for you!


Step 2: Go on a scavenger hunt to find objects around your house, and record them on your chart!

  • Start by finding an object with one of the shapes listed.

  • Then, decide what kind of property the object has (if you are using the main chart).

    • Repeat this hunt for all of the shapes and properties on the chart!

  • Next, write and/or draw the object in the box under the shape (column) and beside the property (row).

    • Try to fill in as many of the boxes as you can!

  • For an extra challenge, you can choose your own shape and property under the “your choice” row and column. Try and find objects with that shape and property to add to your chart!


Step 3: Share it with us!

  • We want to see all of the amazing objects you found on your scavenger hunt!

  • Click the Google Forms link to upload and share a picture of your chart so we can see what you found!


MEDU 530 STEM Night Activity Board (1).pdf

Intro Video

STEM Night Science Intro video

Wrap-Up Video

STEM Night Closing Video.mp4

Saturday at the Smokies Stadium

Have you ever noticed all the shapes on a playground? In this activity, you will get to find shapes on a playground and make your own collage!

Materials:

  • Game Day Menu handout

  • Money handout

  • Scissors

Optional Guiding Questions

MENU #1 Guide

You have $10

  1. Looking at menu #1, what would you spend your $10 on? You have to use all $10.

  1. With your $10, you have to buy 1 food, 1 drink, and 1 snack. What did you buy? How much did you spend?

  1. You want to buy a hot dog and soda from the concession stand, how much money will you have left?

  1. How much would a hamburger and water cost? Can you show how much money you would give the cashier?

  1. How much money are your two favorite things on the menu combined? Show the cashier.

Now try it again with $20

MENU #2 Guide

You have $100

  1. If you are at the game with 4 friends and have to buy all of you food from the concession stand, what would you buy? How much do you have left?

  1. If you could buy any combinations of items from the concession stand, what would it be? How much would this cost?

  1. How much would 5 cheeseburgers cost you? What if you add one hotdog? How much would have left after you buy those 6 items?

  1. What are some different combinations of items that you could buy with $50?

  1. How much money are your two favorite items on the menu combined? Show the cashier. How much money would you have left?

Intro Video

Stem night.mp4

Wrap-Up Video

Movie on 3-9-21 at 4.25 PM.mov