With the increasing prevalence of student-centered educational approaches, activities that enable children to learn permanently by experience gain importance. The stem activities, which develop children’s sense of curiosity and research and problem-solving skills while having fun, are also wondered by parents and teachers.
The applied teaching model created by bringing together the initials of the disciplines of science (science), technology, engineering and mathematics (science, technology, engineering, math.) is called STEM . When children’s sense of curiosity, which is felt intensely at a young age and decreases as they get older, is achieved with STEM activities, effective and permanent learning is provided. The little ones who learn to produce ways to cope with problems also develop different perspectives by acquiring basic skills for their future with these activities.
In addition to curiosity, STEM activities also develop the following skills in children:
- Recognizing and defining the problem
- Do not ask me question,
- show proof,
- Sampling,
- problem solving, solution generation,
- creative thinking,
- Team work,
- Entrepreneurship,
- Individual and free thinking
- Confidence,
- critical thinking,
- Analytical thinking,
- To be able to analyze and synthesize.
It is known that these activities, which are very important for children to be effective and productive, think creatively, and be successful in problem solving throughout their entire lives, contribute to children’s physical development stages as well as mental processes. While carrying out the activities, the little ones who produce projects by bringing together some materials during the process, also develop their fine motor skills with the development of their small hand muscles while cutting and cutting.
So what are STEM activities, how are they applied, who can do it? Here are a few examples of STEM activities that every child can enjoy!
Illuminated And Colorful Statues
Necessary materials:
- Plenty of napkins
- White glue,
- led lamps,
- Wooden board, cardboard or painting canvas to be used as a backdrop.
Fabrication:
+ size this picture with grout. This dimensional object can be a house, an animal, a plant. After giving the necessary shape, wait for the work to dry. Paint the dried building or object in the colors you want and install led lights wherever you want, both to do an architectural work in a small area and to experience the intricacies of the electrical installation.
With this work, children can create unique works by creating both an architectural project and an artistic design. While kneading the dough-like material, they activate their small muscles, and they put their decision-making skills into practice while determining the colors they will use and the locations of the lights.
Self Watering Garden
Necessary materials:
- vegetable crate,
- plant soil,
- Various vegetable seedlings,
- Thin water pipes.
Fabrication:
Read a text describing the effects of climate change and drought to children. Then explain to the children that each of them is a farmer and they must find the most efficient way to irrigate their crops. Ask them to install an irrigation system that will provide drip irrigation with pipes to optimally water the vegetables planted in the crates.
With this activity, children activate their problem-solving and decision-making skills, while at the same time realizing effective designs with the projects they will produce. Environmental and nature awareness, water conservation, and the importance and necessity of irrigation in agriculture are learned by living.
Ballerina Spinning By Candlelight
Necessary materials:
- Play dough,
- Pipette,
- Paper,
- Scissors,
- Four or five small candles.
Fabrication:
Draw a circle in the shape of a ballerina skirt on paper. Draw a dimensional body on the circle and stick it on the skirt. With a straw of about 15 cm, pass it to the play dough so that it stands on any surface, but make sure that the skirt is not fully fixed to the straw. Light the candles so that they fit under the skirt.
As the candles burn, the heated air will rise and begin to rotate the round skirt on it. With this activity, children easily learn about the evaporation-condensation cycle and the formation of rain. Children who benefit from mathematics and geometry by drawing shapes also have the opportunity to observe the results of the warming of the air.
Cloud in a Jar
Necessary materials:
- Jar,
- Boiling water,
- Ice,
- Hair spray,
- Plate.
Fabrication:
Put boiling water in the jar, close the mouth of the jar with a plate and put ice cubes in this plate. When the hot air rising from the boiling water in the jar meets the ice above, steam will form. In order for these vapors to be seen more clearly, spray some hairspray into the jar and wait. You will see that the resulting vapor resembles a cloud.
With this activity, children get a close-up view of condensation, water cycles and states of matter, as well as cloud formation. Doing this activity on a cloudy day, going outside and looking at the clouds immediately after the activity is effective for the permanence of what has been learned.
Homemade Libra
Necessary materials:
- plastic clothes hanger,
- 2 plastic plates,
- Rope,
- Various small toys.
Fabrication:
Pierce the four sides of the plastic plates and thread through them and tie each plate to one end of the coat hanger. Try placing any object on one side of the plate and placing other objects on the other end to stabilize it.
With this activity, children create a balance scale with their own means and learn to estimate the size-weight relationship between objects. For example, 1 toy car equals 4 Lego pieces.
Balloon Driven Car
Necessary materials:
- 1 balloon
- 500ml plastic empty water bottle,
- 3 pipettes,
- 2 skewers,
- 4 blue caps,
- Tape,
- Silicone adhesive.
Fabrication:
Glue a straw to match the top and bottom of the plastic bottle. Thread skewer skewers through the straws and thread the blue caps with a hole in the middle to form a wheel. Lay down the bottle, which looks like a simple car, and tape a straw from the middle lengthwise to the top. Pass the inflated balloon to one end of the straw, leave one end of the straw empty. The air in the balloon empties from the open end of the straw, and thus the car starts to go fast first, and the car slows down as the air outlet decreases.
With this activity, children learn about wind energy and enjoy having made a simple machine.
Unbreakable Egg
Necessary materials:
- Egg
- Other materials suitable for the solution of their choice for attaching to the balloon.
Fabrication:
Give the children a raw egg and ask them to set up a system that allows them to land on the floor without breaking when dropped from any height. Some will design a small parachute, some will tie a balloon to their egg and wait for the egg to descend until the balloon deflates, and some will wrap their eggs in cotton.
With this activity, children are looking for ways to prevent the egg from breaking when it falls from a certain height, and they have the chance to observe simple physics rules while trying to reduce the speed of the fall and resist gravity.
Homemade Catapult
Necessary materials:
- tongue depressor sticks,
- Plastic cover,
- Rubber band,
- Silicone adhesive.
Fabrication:
In this activity, where you can use tongue press sticks or ice cream sticks, first put the two sticks on top of each other and fasten them with elastics at the opposite ends. Bring another double stick together with a rubber band at one end and pass it through the sticks you first joined. Stick a plastic cap on the top end of the sticks with only one end without rubber and the catapult is ready!
With this activity, the little ones observe the force of the movement of the stretched tire in order to regain its original shape, by throwing the object placed on the cover.
Build Your Own Tower!
Necessary materials:
- Toothpick
- Play dough
Fabrication:
Make a large number of hazelnut-sized circles from the play dough. Attach the toothpicks to each other by placing these round play doughs on the joints of the toothpicks. You can develop various designs with these structures, where you will obtain various shapes and prisms.
With this activity, children who try to give their play dough a round shape develop their fine motor skills and fine motor skills, while enriching their imaginations.