STEM Night Activities to Try as a Family
Quality time with loved ones is priceless. There has been a recent uptick in families seeking out activities that allow them to keep busy without leaving the house, involve the kids, and create memories that will last a lifetime.
With the approaching holiday season and the subsequent break from work and school, many families are making preparations to spend more time together. Everyone in the family may learn and have fun by doing things that involve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). While you're on vacation, try some of these exciting STEM activities with a holiday theme.
1. 3D Modeling and Printing
3D modeling and 3D printing can be proven to be one of the best STEM night activities you need to introduce to your children. As they progress in their educational careers, it becomes important to equip them with essential skills in 3D printing and 3D modeling. As a STEM night activity, your kids can design and 3D print small shapes, toys, puzzles, and other wonderful items.
There are many 3D design software available for making educational 3D models, but we recommend using SelfCAD. The program helps students acquire career-ready skills. One key 3D modeling feature of the program is allowing learners to create both simple and complex designs with ease.
A standout aspect of SelfCAD is ease of SelfCAD and powerful at the same time. Most of the easy-to-use 3D modeling software like TinkerCAD are too basic and when the students want to create something complex, they have to switch to another software. But with SelfCAD, it is easy to use and you don’t need to switch to a different software in the future when you want to advance. The software also runs online, as well as on Windows and MacOS, to make it easier for users to work anywhere at any time.
In addition to 3D modeling tools, SelfCAD also comes with an in-built online slicer that you can use to slice your files and generate the G-code to send to your 3D printer. Learn how to slice files in the video below.
There are many resources for learning available, too including the easy-to-follow interactive tutorials, SelfCAD academy, and many YouTube videos like 3D modeling tutorials for beginners, and 3D modeling 101 series.
2. Build a Tower Challenge
Gather everyone together for an exciting evening by starting with a tower-building challenge! Paper cups, toothpicks, balloons, pipe cleaners, straws, and an endless supply of other things are all fair game for this craft.
You have the power to select the rules, the criteria for winning, and whether to split the room into two groups or allow each family to construct their own. Any tower can win, whether it's the highest, the most imaginative, or the longest-lasting.
Your kids will gain a better understanding of engineering and the importance of structural stability as they discover who in their family is naturally more commanding and who may struggle to follow directions. Designating children as group leaders could be beneficial to ensure that adults do not exert undue control over their kids.
3. Paper Circuits
Using these interesting methods, you may educate your children about circuits and conductivity. Making cards that light up using paper circuits requires following simple schematics. To carry out this experiment, you will need the following items: paper, copper tape, LED lights, coin batteries, and clear tape. You can also make good use of markers or crayons to decorate the card.
4. Virtual Coloring
Coloring pages may not seem like much of a STEM exercise at first, but when you add in some technology, your kids can make their coloring pages come to life. "Quiver" is an AR software that lets your pupils do things like zoom in and out, move their drawings around, and make their own quizzes. Your kids and their friends may bring any STEM-related picture to life by coloring it together.
Children can express their creativity while gaining knowledge about the subjects they are coloring in this engaging activity. A rocket or a DNA molecule could be the object in question.
5. Scribbling Doodle Bot
Will you construct a robot for me? Get the kids and families involved in becoming engineers with this entertaining activity! All it takes are a few common household items! You may build your own scribbling doodle bot from the ground up, and it can roam freely while doodling and drawing on enormous sheets of paper!
Incorporating elements of art, engineering, and technology into a creative and entertaining whole is one of my favorite STEM projects of all time. Since it's easy to make and fun for kids of all ages, it's also a great choice for a STEM night!
You can construct the majority of the robot using materials found at home; however, you will require certain technological components, such as batteries, pulleys, and a motor.
6. Make Your Own Bouncy Ball
What rises must inevitably fall... and climb up and down once more! Incorporate some basic physical laws with some chemical reactions, and then have your kids and parents make and play with their very own bouncy balls. The beauty of STEM is that the activity can appear simple, almost like a game! The goal of STEM education is to provide students with meaningful experiences that enhance their learning while they enjoy themselves.
In this chemistry-based craft, students will make their own bouncy balls out of everyday things by mixing the appropriate proportions of various substances. They have complete creative control over the color and can even add glitter for a little more sparkle!
7. Balloon-Powered Car
Everyone there, from kids to adults, is going to love this balloon-powered vehicle! Even though it's easy to put together and calls for little supplies, this exercise will be a terrific way to introduce your children to engineering and the principles of motion. The only things you'll need are a little empty bottle or other container, some tape, straws, skewers, bottle tops, and a balloon. Assisting their children in building the automobile, parents may then watch as their children race their creations. In accordance with Newton's third law—that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction—the balloon's force propels the car ahead.
8. Space Lander Engineering Challenge
Incorporate it into your STEM family night for the ideal challenge. Assist your children in creating a space lander that uses the Engineering Design Process to contain two marshmallow "aliens" in a cup while it falls from varying heights with this challenge.
You and your children can experiment with stability, drag forces, and shock absorption by making models out of index cards, straws, and miniature marshmallows. If you'd rather not deal with the mess that comes with big marshmallows, you can use two ping-pong balls instead. In addition, cotton balls can stand in for the miniature marshmallows.
9. Paper Chain STEM Challenge
Make the longest paper chain you can in around 20 to 30 minutes using only a pair of scissors, a glue stick or tape, and a single sheet of paper. Spend the first five minutes figuring out the problem and how you're going to solve it. Give them the benefit of the doubt and tell them that they will succeed where others fail because they took the time to plan. By the end of the allotted time, the children must have successfully transported and set up their measurement chain without it breaking.
The length of the chain is directly proportional to the thickness of the paper strips and the proximity of the glue joints; however, a chain that is both thinner and more closely spaced will be weaker and may not be able to withstand transport. This is the kind of critical thinking that we hope the participants will be able to identify.
Spark Curiosity and Create Memories with STEM Activities!
In order to bring out the exciting element of learning, organizing a STEM family night is a simple and enjoyable method. These science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) exercises have a list of the items that are needed, instructions that are easy to understand, and a concise description of what is occurring scientifically. In turn, this makes it simple and straightforward for all parent groups to organize and present STEM nights that are both engaging and successful without the need to recruit a rocket scientist to serve as a co-chair.
Enjoy powerful modeling, rendering, and 3D printing tools without the steep learning curve.
Need to learn 3D modeling? Get started with interactive tutorials.