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Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead’s STEM guru must have a Ph.D. in fun because these activities are sure to entertain you kids for hours, maybe days or weeks — and they’re educational.

In sitting down to plan this article months ago, I never could have imagined how topical it would become. With the pause button pressed locally and across the globe due to COVID-19, parents have unexpectedly assumed the role of teacher in millions of households. With this comes extra responsibility. For many, it’s not enough that children get their digital learning done daily. Parents who aspire to give their kids more are always seeking enrichment opportunities for their children. These enrichment opportunities become particularly important as kids fall into routines defined by monotony. The STEAM activities that follow are great ways to mix things up, all while having fun and providing much needed higher-level thinking opportunities.

STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art and math (although we like to use the “M” for music at Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead). More than just the individual topics, good STEAM activities combine multiple topics and disciplines to help build what we refer to as the “maker traits.” These maker traits take learning above and beyond your typical low-level content mastery. They encourage a growth mindset and facilitate the thinking skills that kids need to be successful in nearly everything they do. These traits are: » Perseverance » Idea generation » Fearless problem-solving » Self-guided learning

A student who regularly practices these traits and learns to master them is infinitely more prepared for the future, whatever it may bring. These kids think flexibly, creatively, and don’t shy away from a challenge or a problem. Teaching these maker traits to kids is easier than it sounds. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and training a child to be a fearless problem-solver can take half a lifetime. Like anything, however, the more opportunities our students have, the easier it becomes.

These five STEAM activities are selected because they combine STEAM topics, encourage use of the maker traits, and can be done at home with little to no cost or additional supplies. They are great to be done with your child — you will both have fun! As with many great STEAM activities, they have no “right answer” or singular way to accomplish the goal.

The Rube Goldberg machine Rube Goldberg was an artist and cartoonist whose crazy contraptions captured the imagination of America in the 1950s. Named for their creator, a Rube Goldberg machine is a highly inefficient chain reaction that accomplishes a single task (such as pouring a glass of milk). A quick Google search will reveal many thousands of Rube Goldberg machines along with hours of inspiration. Building your own Rube Goldberg machine seems easy enough, but it requires a ton of creativity, engineering skill and perseverance.

Kids as young as 5 can help build a Rube Goldberg machine or a chain reaction. Dominoes are a popular starting point, but I recommend not using them even if you do have them. In our experience, kids tend to lean on them rather than using their own creative problem-solving to figure out how to transfer energy to the next step in the machine. 1 ACTIVITY

SET UP: 1. Gather as much random stuff as you can.

Marbles, playing cards, robots, string, tape, Hot Wheels cars, lots of random toys, etc. Almost anything can be used. 2. Decide on an end goal. What is the purpose of your Rube Goldberg machine? 3. Research! See what ideas are out there.

How can you adapt them? 4. Plan. Things don’t always go according to plan, but it’s very helpful to have one.

• Start from the end and work backward. • Gravity is your friend. Use it. • Chain reactions are all about potential energy. Learn how to maximize an object’s potential energy. • Failure is part of the process. Even simple

Rube Goldberg machines fail dozens of times before they work. Embrace it.

2ACTIVITY

Popsicle stick catapults

Popsicle sticks have got to be the most versatile art/ engineering material for kids. They can be used in endless ways to create just about anything. They’re easy to work with, cheap, abundant, and make great building blocks for hundreds of projects.

For this activity, you will need: Popsicle sticks, rubber bands, hot glue, binder clips, bottle caps, marshmallows (or other soft ammunition), plastic spoons.

1. Provide the materials listed above for your child. 2. Set a goal (farthest launcher, highest launcher, shoot marshmallows into mouth). 3. Do research together.

Encourage self-guided learning. Find examples online and analyze the designs. 4. Choose a design that you think will accomplish your goal. 5. Build it, test it, redesign it, test it, modify it, test it more.

• With open-ended projects, test as you go. Design iteratively. • Not all materials need to be used. • Challenge kids to make different variations for different purposes.

Start coding

Only a few years ago, this would seem like an impossible task to accomplish on your own. Whether you’re the student or the teacher, just “learning to code” sounds boring, monotonous, and feels like it could take a lifetime. Well, that’s all mostly true once you get far enough into coding, but the beginning stages of learning to code are a blast. And it helps with math, logic, reasoning, technology, perseverance and so much more. There are a ton of great free resources to gamify and learn coding. Scratch is our favorite, and here’s how to get started. 3 ACTIVITY

1. Head over to scratch.mit. edu. 2. Create an account, though not totally necessary, unless you want to save your child’s work. 3. Click “Ideas” at the top. 4. Follow the tutorials to get acquainted with the layout. 5. In minutes, kids will be creating their own programs and animations.

• Scratch is open source, which means everything is shared once set to public. • You can borrow bits of code,

“sprites,” and backdrops from other people’s programs. • Scratch allows you to “Remix” other programs to tinker with them. • Scratch can get complex quickly, but following the tutorials initially is a great way to not get overwhelmed.

The build-off

The build-off is a fan favorite at Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead. It combines charades, engineering, quick thinking, and uses all the building materials you have laying around your house. The goal is to quickly build a random object in a relatively short amount of time. Idea generation, fearless problem-solving and creative thinking are all present in this fun, fast-paced STEAM activity. This can be done with one person, or with as many as you want. 4 ACTIVITY

1. Gather all the toy building materials that you have (Lego, K’Nex, building blocks, Popsicle sticks, Keva planks, etc.). 2. Write each building material on a slip of paper and put them in a hat. 3. Write a bunch of different objects on a slip of paper (e.g., car, boat, tree, beach, fish). Put them in a different hat. 4. Randomly select a building material. 5. Randomly select an object to build. 6. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Go!

• Kids can work in teams easily. • There are several charade apps that can randomly select objects. • Some kids love competition, some do not. This can easily be either.

At the cross section of origami and civil engineering lay the 3D paper city project. The supplies are virtually limitless (especially if you use recycled junk mail), and the creative potential is bound only by your imagination. The goal of the 3D paper city project is to build paper homes and buildings using origami techniques while laying out the town or city of your dreams. Imagine, a city skyline that could be felled with even the slightest breeze. Sounds amazing, right? Well, even if not, your child will have a lot of fun combining art, engineering and perseverance. 5 ACTIVITY

1. Get a lot of paper (recycled is great). 2. Research. What are some different ways to make paper houses and buildings? YouTube and Google have many great tutorials. 3. Develop your own process to make a paper house if you’re feeling adventurous. 4. Plan your city. Include the essential components of a city. Roads, homes, businesses, parks, etc. 5. Build! Fold paper, tape, glue, and make many, many paper buildings of all shapes and sizes.

• This is a great team activity. The more the better! • Different sizes, colors and types of paper make for a more exciting skyline. • If you have an undisturbed corner or a tabletop to lend to the cause, this project can take hours, days, weeks — as long as you want! • Buildings tend to get more creative and adventurous as the city grows.

Encourage it! • Running out of motivation? See if your city can survive a natural disaster like hurricane force winds. Or a fan.

Great STEAM activities are about building creativity, confidence, flexible thinking and problem-solving skills. Go forth and mold the minds of the future!

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