STEM Club Labs - Group 1

This page is for our first session of STEM Club. In this session we introduce the ideas of measurement, buoyancy, chemical reactions, etc... Each lab is meant to stand on its own, but we may reference other labs for examples. Remember to give your kids a foundation for some of this material by making sure they can do basic measurement, chart reading and understand the scientific method. To help with this type of background check out our STEM Books tab - these books were written by us to introduce many of the concepts we teach in STEM through a book instead of a lab, hopefully making it easier to introduce a concept before starting a lab that may use that concept in one form or another.

Experiments
Measurement - This experiment is our basic introduction to STEM Club. We will learn about five different types of measurement then use what we learn to decode a secret message for Special Agent Q. This lab is a light introduction to start STEM Club and gauge how your students will work together.
Buoyancy - This experiment goes through the simplest ideas around buoyancy (this will not take into account the surface area of a material aiding in increasing buoyancy) and will focus on the density of an object when added to a liquid. This experiment will add salt to a cup of water and in order to change the density of the water and make an uncooked egg in its shell float.
Chemical Reactions -  This experiment goes through many basic chemical reactions (this will not go into electron sharing or how to write a chemical formula based on base elements, but will show some minor examples of both) and will focus on a simple acid-base reaction between vinegar and baking soda.
Aerodynamics - This experiment describes the four main forces that act on a plane in flight (Gravity, Lift, Thrust, and Drag). Once we understand those forces we work to build paper airplanes and figure out how changing parts of the airplanes design effects the ability to fly long distances, do tricks, etc...
Probability -  This experiment describes the basics of probability (how likely something is to happen). Once we learn about how to calculate probabilities we will test how likely you are to get 3 dice face that are all the same verses how likely you are to get 6 dice face that are all the same, and see if both have the same probability or different probabilities.
Paleontology - This experiment describes the basics of paleontology (the study of life prior to humans) and some of the many sciences that are involved in paleontology. The kids will work to take apart a sedimentation layer and see if they can find anything based on things they learned in the lab.
Cryptography - This experiment describes the very basics of cryptography and how to use basic ciphers to encrypt and decrypt messages. This can then be extended to learn how to do some basic computer programming. The kids will work in groups to work through a series of 5 ciphers (of increasing difficulty) to test their coding breaking skills.
Forensics - In this lab we will delve into forensics avoiding any of the specifics associated with criminology. Here we will look at how to assess evidence and see if we can determine what may have happened to a tray of cookies before it hit the floor.
Statistics – Will delve into some different graphs and how those graphs can represent certain things. After they learn some basics of statistics they will use butcher paper to draw outlines of themselves and measure their heights then compare them to the CDC statistics on height for children their age, then will see if they can determine what percentile they are in in terms of the population for height.
Optimization (applications to Battleship) – This lab will look at strategies in playing battleship and show different ways to optimize their search pattern and better their possible outcomes. After they learn about optimization they will use their own fake battleship boards to see if they can devise their own optimized strategies.
Structures – This lab will introduce the kids to some of the basic shapes used to create different common structures. They will learn how certain shapes can be very strong against wind or pressure and how others might not be as strong. Then the kids will build their own structures using toothpicks and gumdrops to build their own structures and see if their structures can withstand high winds or heavy snow loads.
Introductory Kinematics – This lab will introduce kids to kinematics (the study of how things move without concern for their mass or forces that may have caused the motion). After the kids learn about kinematics they will work to build their own pendulums and see who can complete the secret message decode using their kinematics knowledge.
Chain Reactions – This lab will teach kids about chain reactions and how triggering one event can lead to another and another (the butterfly effect). Once they have learned about chain reactions the kids will use gears, trains, and dominoes to create their own chain reactions.
Ocean Currents - This lab will introduce kids to ocean currents and how these powerful things affect weather and life over our entire planet. Kids will do a series of 5 labs in order to see how different aspects of ocean currents can change things on a global level.
Nucleation – the kids will learn how in certain chemical reactions can lead to materials organizing into a new structure. They will test nucleation with milk and vinegar, mentos and diet coke and creating ice cream (yes this will be a messy delicious day and will have to be outside!)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)