The first step was to change the traditional math night to STEM night. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is not a well-known acronym at my school. This change not only broadened the types of activities we could feature, it served as a catalyst for great discussions among teachers and parents regarding curriculum. Students also began to notice how interrelated the fields really are.
The next step was to plan the activities. The event was held on a Tuesday night for an hour. Families used a "passport" to make their way around each station. Passports were collected and placed into a drawing at the end of the night. Three winners from each grade-level band were chosen. All activities took place in the Gym/cafeteria and were chosen for their level of engagement, simplicity, and variety. Game facilitators were given a page of directions, learning objectives, and talking points. Some activities were messy, some were creative, some were loud, some were quiet, and some required lots and lots of brain power. Most importantly, all were relatively simple in terms of supplies and were easily executable by both teachers and volunteers. Here's a run-down of the events:
Students used cornstarch and water to explore properties of matter.
The classic "drops on a coin" experiment demonstrating water cohesion.
Color Exploration Mural/UV Beads
Students used the same marker on both white and black paper, noticing which colors worked best on each background. This was also my sneaky way to incorporate the arts. The teacher who ran this station also gave away UV beads that changed color when exposed to sunlight.
Aluminum Foil Boats
Students first had to engineer a boat out of aluminum foil. Next, they tested to see how many pennies their boat could hold before it sank.
Students crafted paper airplanes using three different sizes of paper. They were encouraged to explore how certain features like the nose, rudder, tails, or flaps change the flight pattern/quality of their aircraft.
Using only straws, life savers, paper, and paper clips, families created a small car and then competed against each other to see who's could go the furthest on a single puff of air. This was by far one of the crowd favorites!
Sling shot, cardboard blocks, and two stuffed angry birds. 'Nuff said. A definite favorite!
Playing Card Math Games
Families received a packet of math games they could play at home using either playing cards or dice. Teachers demonstrated a few favorites we regularly use in the classroom. The playing cards were donated to us by a local organization.
Math Strategy Games
Students explored shapes using Tangram sets (cut from craft foam) and several puzzles for families to solve.
Each child got a small bag of M&Ms and were asked to do simple computation problems with their candy, such as find the sum of reds and yellows. Students were also encouraged to explain the different fractions they could make using their M&Ms and also think of ways they could graph their results.
We had four different estimation jars filled with fun things like little toys, cap erasers, candy, and goldfish crackers.
Digital Citizenship Information
I created a packet of information about Internet safety and digital citizenship to hand out using resources from Common Sense Media.
About two weeks before STEM night, my class delved into a persuasive writing unit. I had my students create media publications of their choice to promote the event and persuade others to attend. It was a really fun way to assess this learning standard and my students loved being able to help me promote STEM night! We ended up with several commercials/skits, posters, presentations, and morning announcements!
It paid to be extra prepared. I created direction sheets for each activity with talking points and leading questions for the facilitating teachers and volunteers. I noticed many of the students using the academic language from the conversations with the facilitators throughout the night. Teachers liked having something to refer to, and it also helped me keep organized in terms of supplies. I also housed all supplies for each activity in their own clear tub. This made set-up and clean-up quite painless and will make storing activities much easier. This was a huge organizational feat for me!
It may not be wise to plan such a large event on the same day as a field trip and the week of professional development and a big trip. Most of this was out of my control, but having so many things in one week through me off big time!
I've gotten lots of great feedback from the students, parents, and staff that attended. It was totally worth the work that went into it, and I'm already scheming of ways to make it even more awesome for next year!