Hello, I find Pintrest very inspirational, its full of ideas. I have scrolled through some great ideas and put together my top 5 amazing STEM activities to try at home.
I have selected a good range from structural engineering, mechanisms, and forces. Have a go and let me know what you think – happy building!!
1. Da Vinci Bridge
from Frugal Fun 4 Boys
This bridge was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci he was an artist, inventor and engineer in the 15th century. He designed this bridge for a few soldier’s to build to cross rivers during battle – the amazing thing about it is that it doesn’t need anything to hold it together.
Once built friction and gravity hold it all together.
IGameMom also has an awesome Da Vinci Bridge with Pencils!
2. Pringles Ring
From Carly & Adam Blog
Such an easy task to plan for – one tube of Pringles is all you need.
It’s a great activity for strengthening problem solving skills and developing dexterity. Once the right is complete it makes a nice patter and best of all you can eat the Pringles at the end!
Cardboard Articulated Grabber
This is a good way of learning about mechanisms. A scissor mechanism is used , these mechanisms are useful as they extend when used and can close up as well, which is useful for the grabber part.
This activity could be extended to make the scissor mechanisms longer – it would be interesting to see how long you can make the grabber before it starts to bend.
Levitating Pencil
from arvind gupta toys
The power of magnets and magnetic fields is amazing. This little project is a really good way to visualise what happens when the magnets repel each other and show the force they have.
The Force involved here is called a ‘non-contact’ force – this is because the two surfaces do not have to touch each other.
Bottle Rocket
Bottle rockets are just the best! They are simple to make and our hours of fun, whilst teaching physics . This link gives a nice easy to follow build instructions and a list of all the materials you need.
For a chemistry inspired bottle rocket, try this alternative from Steam Powered Family!
How did you get on? Which activity did you choose, or have you managed to do all five?
Let me know what you got up to, I’d love to see and hear about it! You can post below in the comments or connect with us via Facebook.
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