STEAM - Minute to Win it

STEAM

What a blast!

Last time in STEAM we had a challenge of 

Minute to Win it FUN!

Join us October 29th for
Glow in the Dark Goo! 

 Marshmallow Toss

Students partner up and stand across from each other, about 2-4 feet apart.

One person has a handful of marshmallows and the other has a small paper cup. Students have one minute to toss as many marshmallows into the cup as possible.

 One-Handed Bracelets

One minute to thread as many fruit loops onto a pipe cleaner as possible. And then–here’s the clincher–the player has to make that pipe cleaner into a bracelet. Using one hand.  So funny!

Kix Chopstick Race

Players work individually to move as many Kix cereal pieces from a central bowl into their own plastic cups, using only a pair of chopsticks.  Easy?  Think again...

 Stack Attack

Players have 1 minute to completely stack and unstack 21 cups into a pyramid as many times as possible. So fun!

 Sticky Balls

Players blow through straws to roll marbles from one side of the table to the other, trying to get as many as possible to stick on double sided tape.

 Bucket Pong
Standing at one end of a long table, try to bounce as many as possible ping-pong balls into the bucket.

 

 Dead Weight 
   Three balloons per person
      Cocoa Pebbles Cereal or other (I used rice)

Setup: 

To setup the game, place a 1/4 cup of Cocoa Pebbles Cereal in each of the balloons then blow them up. If you’ve never put things into balloons before, I recommend doing it with a friend. Have them hold the balloon opening up, while you pour the Cocoa Pebbles Cereal inside.

Play: 

This is one of my favorite games to watch because people think it’s going to be so easy. The goal of the game is either to keep all three balloons up in the air for one minute or to keep the balloons up in the air longer than everyone else playing (however you decide to play it). The fun twist for dead weight is that the Cocoa Pebbles Cereal in the balloons will make the balloons both fall down faster and fall in different directions than a normal balloon might. Have a large enough space for the entire group to do this at the same time or splitting your group up and timing them to see how long they can keep them up. 

Our book: Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

New Preschool STEAM Activity: See Saw Bears

See Saw Bears

Pretend that there are bears playing on a seesaw. Place different amounts of bears on one or both sides of the scale and see what happens. Which side is heavier?

This helps your child learn...

· Science skills (observing and guessing)

· Math skills (comparing and weighing)

*To do the preschool activity, simply ask for the activity at the Early Learning Center desk. When you have complete the activity, return it to the desk and you will receive a sticker.

Balancín Osos

Imagine que hay osos jugando en un balancín. Pone diferentes cantidades de osos en uno o ambos lados de la balanza y ver qué pasa. ¿De qué lado es más pesado?

Esto ayuda a su niño a aprender ...

· Las ciencias (observar y adivinanzas)

· Las matemáticas (comparando y pesaje)

*Para hacer la actividad preescolar de STEAM, simplemente pide la actividad en el escritorio del Early Learning Center (Centro do Aprendizaje Temprano). Cuando hayas completado la actividad, devuelve la actividad al escritorio y recibirás una calcomanía.

Family Style STEAM - Spider Cages

FAMILY STYLE STEAM/Spider Cages

Build a Spider Cage

This was so much fun! Kids had to build a spider cage for 5 fake spiders with a list of constraints to follow.

• The box must hold all the spiders with adequate space to move.
• The box must have a viewing window.
• The box must have a latch to keep it securely closed. 
• The box must have a carrying handle.      

Our book: Aaaarrgghh! Spider! 

by L. Monks

 KidZone Spider Facts-Spiders are Arachnids

Arachnids are creatures with two body segments, eight legs, no wings or antennae and are not able to chew. There are more than 30 000 different species of spiders. All spiders are predators and many will eat other spiders.  

                                      The Body of a Spider

Spiders have two body segments.  

 1.

The front segment is called the Cephalothorax.  The spider’s eyes, mouth fangs, stomach, brain and the glands that make the poison are on this part of the body.  The legs are connected to this part, as well.  Most spiders have eight eyes, but some have less.  Spiders also have these tiny little leg-ish things called ‘pedipalps’ that are beside the fangs.  They help to hold prey while the spider bites it.

2.

The second part of the body is called the Abdomen.  The back end of the abdomen is where the Spinnerets, the silk producing glands, are.  The spider’s body has an oil on it to keep the spider from sticking to its own web. Spider’s legs are covered with many hairs.  The hairs pick up vibrations and smells from the air.  At the end of the legs are, at least, two small claws.  

 All Knees

Spiders have 48 knees.  Yup, count them…eight legs with six joints on each.

Spiders do not have a skeleton inside their bodies.  They have a hard outer shell called an ‘exoskeleton’.  Because it is hard, it can’t grow with the spider.  So young spiders need to molt, or shed their exoskeleton.  The spider must climb out of the old shell through the cephalothorax.  You can imagine how hard it must be to pull all those legs out! They are pretty helpless at this point.  Once they are out they must stretch themselves out before the new exoskeleton hardens.  This gives them a bit of growing room.  As adults, they stop growing and do not need to molt.  Male spiders are usually smaller than females.

Venomous Spiders?

All spiders have fangs! And, yes, they almost all have venom in them. Lucky for us, most spider poison will not harm people because it is quite weak.  Most spiders use their venom to paralyze its insect victim long enough to devour it.  For other spiders, their poison is strong enough to kill their prey.  Of course, this also comes in handy when being attacked by a predator.

There are a few spiders with poison strong enough to cause pain or even some nerve damage in humans.  These spiders include the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse spiders.  If left untreated, death could result.

People usually associate Tarantulas with the people-killing kind of poison.  This is untrue.  They have small poison glands and will be about as painful as a hornet or bee sting.

Spiders do much more good than harm

Most people are afraid of spiders because they bite. But only two kinds of spiders in the U.S. – the black widow and the brown recluse – are venomous to people.

 In the whole world, only 25 species of spiders can harm humans.

So what’s so great about spiders?  

 1.

They eat insects – and lots of them. One spider can eat over 2,000 insects a year. Without them, your home and garden would be overrun with flies, mosquitoes and beetles. 

Fun Facts about Spiders for Kids

• All spiders can spin silk, but not all spiders spin webs. Jumping spiders, for example, have great eyesight. They simply wait to pounce on their prey.
• Spiders can produce seven different kinds of silk. Some silk has special glue that makes it sticky to catch insects. Other silk is not sticky.
• Spiders make a nest of silk to protect their eggs. They place the eggs on the nest and then cover it with more silk to make a soft pocket.
• Spiders’ silk is so strong, it has been compared to steel.

Join us October 15th for STEAM

"Minute to Win it" 

Grades K-2 here 

Grades 3-5 here