Activities and Graphics

Activities

STEAM SPACE

Build your own Hubble Space Telescope and learn about our solar system from Space Thermal Engineer Cassie Roby!

For those who don't know... Cassie works as a Spacecraft Thermal Engineer for Northrop Grumman. She works on special satellites for the U.S. Government. Check out the STEAM video to the left to learn about our solar system and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Science:

The solar system is the collection of planets and other bodies that orbit the sun. Our solar system has 8 planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Space also includes asteroids, space dust, stars, and comets. To help us understand space special space telescopes are created, like the Hubble space telescope. The Hubble space telescope was launched in 1990 and is the largest optical telescope in orbit. It's replacement is currently being built at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, CA and is set to launch October 2021!

Giant Snowflake

What better way to educate and get the attention of your students than with a GIANT snowflake?! In this video Cassie walks through all the steps required to build a giant snowflake AND goes over the SCIENCE of how snowflakes form in the air!

The Science:

Snowflakes form when an extremely cold water droplet freezes onto a pollen or dust particle in the sky, creating an ice crystal. As it falls, water vapor freezes onto the crystal and creates new crystals. The shape is determined by the temperature of the air and the atmospheric path at which it falls. No two snowflakes will follow the same path down to earth, thus, no two snowflakes are alike!

Aluminum Foil Boat

What makes a boat float? Does the design of a boat impact how much it can carry?

In this activity Cassie talks about buoyancy.

The Science:

Buoyancy is the upward force applied by the fluid on the object (in this case the boat) when the object is submerged in the fluid. Buoyancy depends on the mass of the object, density of the object, and the density of the fluid.

Make your own Slime

Ready to make your own slime?! This activity will keep kids busy for hours even after this chemistry activity is complete.

The Science:

This easy at-home slime activity requires only three ingredients: Glue, Baking Soda, and Contact Solution. A chemical reaction between the baking soda and the boric acid in the contact solution creates a chemical crosslinker. This crosslinker makes all the glue molecules stick together to make slime!

Bye Bye Germs

Need a fun way to teach children why washing their hands is SO important? Bye Bye Germs gives a visual representation of what happens to germs when we wash our hands!

The Science:

When soap is added to the water the surface tension of the water is lowered. This causes the water molecules on top (where the pepper is floating) to "scatter" or move away to the edges. Just like what soap does to the germs on our hands!

Popsicle Stick Catapult

Let's go back to medieval times full of Queens, Knights, and Castles! In order to break down castle walls knights would use catapults, similar to the one we make in this STEM activity!

The Science:

Catapults work by transferring energy from one form to another and from one object to another. When you pull the popsicle stick back and prepare to launch you add stored/potential energy to it. When you release this energy is converted to kinetic energy, known as the energy of motion.

Build your own Cooler

You take them to the park, the beach, and the baseball game. They're critical to keeping your drinks and snacks the perfect temperature... It's a cooler!

The Science:

How do coolers help you keep your drinks/snacks cold? The answer is insulation. Insulation slows the transfer of heat from the hot outside air to the cold drink/snack. In this video we look at different materials used for insulation and determine which works the best!

Oil Spill

Oil Spills are the release of liquid petroleum into the environment, specifically the marine ecosystem. Florida is known for its marine ecosystems also known as the beach! When oil spills occur getting the oil out of the water and off marine life is very difficult. This activity teaches children just how hard that can be.

The Science:

Due to the chemical composition of oil and water, they do not mix and oil floats on water. When oil enters the marine ecosystem it is harmful and destroys the environment. What ways can you think of that can remove the oil from the water?

Easter Towers

2 fun structural engineering STEM Easter activities with only 2 materials each! Hope you have a blessed Easter.

The Science:

Structural and Civil Engineers conceive, design, build, supervise, operate, and maintain infrastructure projects. This includes towers! When designing towers these engineers must consider materials, center of mass, mass and volume. This activity allows children to used their creativity to figure out the best way to design the best tower!

Exploding Easter Eggs

Throw out the Easter Egg hunt and shake it up with this exploding Easter Egg activity!

The Science:

Alka-Seltzer is made of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). When the Alka-Seltzer is dissolved in water the citric acid and baking soda form an acid-base reaction. The citric acid is the acid and the baking soda is the base. The resulting reaction creates carbon dioxide bubbles. When the egg is closed the carbon dioxide has no where to go creating pressure in the egg. The pressure will build up leading to the explosion!

Lava Lamp

With just oil, water, and food coloring you can make your own Lava lamp!

The Science:

Water is composed of polar molecules, which means one end has a positive charge and the other has a negative charge. Oil is composed of non-polar molecules which cannot mix with polar molecules. This causes the water and oil to separate. The water molecules are more tightly packed making them more density. This makes the water sink and oil float.

Play Doh Maze!

Use your creativity to make a maze! Using fluid transfer you are able to control and direct the ball through the maze.

The Science:

When you blow through a straw you force air in one direction. This type of fluid transfer is called forced convection. The other types of fluid transfer are conduction and radiation. By directing the air you are able to control the ball through the maze.