STEM skills (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are important to all aspects of our lives, from construction to space exploration, from the digital world to caring for the natural one. Here are 40 quick, easy to access STEM activities that can be done just as easily at home as at school; you don’t need to be an expert to carry them out, and yes, they really do take just 15 minutes. They are all hands on and will encourage curiosity, for example, experimenting with soap bubbles explains tensile structure, Newton’s third law of motion is demonstrated using a balloon and some bits of cardboard, while you can find out about kinetic energy while making a catapult. Practical, fun and instructive.
From caring for our environment to the digital revolution, the demand for STEM skills is huge and is only set to grow. STEM is therefore an important priority area in modern education, leaving many teachers and parents asking questions such as `How do I fit STEM education into my day?' and `What kind of activities should I be exploring?' Enter 15-Minute STEM with the answers ... This innovative resource has been designed to reassure teachers and parents that they don't need to be experts to deliver high-quality STEM education. Each of the 40 activities includes step-by-step instructions, takes just 15 minutes to complete and can be resourced from everyday materials found in the classroom or at home. This means that, with minimal preparation, teachers can slot these cross-curricular activities into an otherwise busy day, broadening their pupils' learning at no cost to their focus on core curriculum areas. The activities make connections to real-world scenarios, helping children to understand how their learning is relevant to their future, and have been linked to conceptually similar STEM-related careers - all of which are individually profiled in a glossary at the back of the book. The practical, problem-solving element of each activity offers a great way for children to develop important soft skills such as creativity, critical thinking and spatial awareness. Accompanying instructions are framed and phrased in a way that encourages the children to lead the learning and exploration - allowing the supervising adult to take a more hands-off, facilitative approach - and opportunities for further investigation are provided in order to broaden the learning focus and extend the tasks beyond 15 minutes. Hand-drawn illustrations and full colour photographs are also included alongside each activity to give an idea of what the end results might look like. Suitable for both teachers and parents.
Activities include: * Arctic Engineering: Why are igloos built in a dome shape? * Fireworks in a Jar: What happens when we mix fluids of different densities? * Marble Run Mayhem: What happens to a marble as it moves through a marble run? * Rainbow Walking Water: How does water get from the roots of plants to the leaves? * Spoon Sound Waves: How can we change the pitch of sound?
Emily Hunt is an experienced primary school teacher whose role as a science subject leader at a school in Bristol ignited in her a passion for promoting STEM education. During a recent year in the USA she developed a popular website and blog – www.howtostem.co.uk – offering STEM activities and advice for educators working with the 5–11 age range. She also worked within the US education system to deliver science outreach, and holds a Master of Education from the University of Cambridge.
