Even though school is out, fun summer STEM activities are always welcome! We wanted to offer two STEM activities that the whole family can take part in.
2 Summer STEM Activities For Your Kid To Enjoy
Activity 1:
Save A Dinosaur
Supplies needed:
- A recycled plastic container such as a plastic drink bottle
- Air-dry clay or DIY clay: 1 cup of flour (all-purpose), ½ cup of salt, ½ cup of water (mix ingredients to create a thick dough)
- Plastic toy dinosaurs
- Vinegar
- Baking soda?
- Red food dye or non-toxic red paint
- Pan with sides or plate
Instructions:
Step 1: Make a Volcano
With this simple craft, your child can protect the dinosaurs from the lava flow. Together, start by creating the volcano. The clay should be gathered and rolled into long, “snake-like” shapes. Coil the forms around the container and set it on the plate or pan. Be careful not to thin out the coils too much because you’ll need a thick surface to work with. Work together to smooth the coils against the container. Put the plastic dinosaurs on the plate and in the clay at the volcano’s base.
Step 2: Make A Plan
Create a Plan: Once your volcano is constructed, discuss how a volcano functions with your kid. Ask your kid to use dough or other things to move the lava away from the dinosaurs. Building a canal to direct the lava elsewhere is one easy approach they can try.
Step 3: Save the Dinosaurs
Rescue the Dinosaurs: Carefully pour half a cup of baking soda into the volcano to test out their diversion. Pour the red food coloring-infused vinegar gradually over the baking soda. Vinegar should be added until “lava” begins to flow. Do the dinos retreat from the lava? Encourage your child to try several strategies if the distraction fails to save the dinosaurs.
Activity 2:
Bee Pollination
Supplies needed:
- Peel & stick pom poms
- Jumbo natural craft sticks
- Black pipe cleaners
- Construction paper
- Scissors
- Cheese puffs (doubles as a yummy snack *wink)
- Small round container
- Jar lid
Instructions:
Step 1: Make your bee friend
It’s time to create your tiny pollinating friend! First, place two yellow pom poms next to one another at the end of a popsicle stick. Next, using your scissors, cut a black chenille stem in half. The other half of the pipe cleaner should be placed behind the two pom poms. Take one of your halves and lay it between the two pom poms. The two pipe cleaners should then be twisted around the stick to keep them fastened. Then, make them into four tiny, flexible bee legs!
Step 2: Create your flowers
It’s time to create your flowers now that you have your little bee friend! Use your colored sheets of paper and scissors to cut out two pieces that are the size of a flower. When you have both of your flowers in place, top one with a small round container and the other with a little round jar lid. The pistil, or core, of your flower, will be represented by the container and lid.
Step 3:
It’s time to produce pollen for our blooms right? Pour some of the cheese balls or cheese doodles from your bag into the cylindrical container. Start to shred them into tiny flakes using your scissors. Do this until they resemble tiny pieces of pollen, then stop.
Step 4:
One of your flowers appears to need some support getting pollinated. Have your little bee friend dip their legs into the pollen in the cylindrical container. Fly them over to the empty jar lid and assist them in dumping some of the pollen once they have a significant amount of it stuck to their legs. Do this until you and your bee pal believe that the other bloom has been appropriately pollinated! To keep the activity going, prepare many flowers that require pollination.
We know that the summertime is the ideal time for you and your child to spend quality time together, so we hope you enjoy these two fun summer STEM activities!
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