ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM

It’s time to fish with this week’s focus on TECHNOLOGY while creating a fishing rod.

You’ll need:

  • Construction paper
  • Paper clips
  • Scissors
  • Magnet
  • Dowel
  • String

Instructions

  1. Tie a piece of string (about 3 ft long) around the end of your dowel.
  2. At the other end of the string, tie a magnet in place. This is your fishing rod!
  3. Cut out some fish out of construction paper and add a paper clip onto the mouth of your fish.
  4. It’s time to fish!

Children will learn about magnets and what types of materials they attract. Magnetic fields are invisible clouds of energy around particles that either pull or push away other magnetic objects. Let’s hope your children PULL in some fish!

ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM

This week we head over to Mellow Marsh with our TECHNOLOGY-focused activity. It’s time to make a buzz with our butterfly noisemaker. 

You’ll need:

  • Popsicle stick
  • Construction paper
  • Elastic band
  • String
  • Markers
  • Glue

Instructions:

  • Trace and cut out a butterfly shape.
  • Decorate your butterfly.
  • Tie a string near the bottom of the popsicle stick.
  • Place the popsicle stick in the middle of your butterfly and glue it on.
  • Now stretch your elastic band over the top of the popsicle stick.
  • Hold the string by the bottom and swing your butterfly noisemaker around.
  • It’ll create a buzzing sound!

What’s creating that buzz? When you swing the noisemaker in the air it creates vibrations. The buzzing sound comes from the elastic band vibrating against the popsicle stick.

ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM

Want to see how the heart works?! This week’s focus on TECHNOLOGY is all about how a heart pumps in and out of its chambers.

You’ll need:
– Small Jar
– Cup
– 2 Bendy Straws
– Balloon
– Tape/Glue
– Water
– Red Food Colouring
– Toothpick

Instructions
1. Fill your jar halfway with water and add in your food colouring.
2. Take your balloon, cut the neck off it and stretch the top part over the jar’s mouth. Do not discard the neck part of the balloon, we’ll need that later.
3. Take a toothpick and poke a hole in the top of the balloon close to one side of the jar. Now, poke a second hole about an inch away from the first hole.
4. Take your straws and push one through each hole making sure the bendy part is sticking out the top.
5. Now take the neck part of the balloon and use it to cover up the opening of one of the straws and secure it with tape.
6. Place your cup under the other straw to catch the liquid.
7. It’s time to start pumping! Ask your child to push up and down on the balloon between the two straws. The “blood” will go up the open-ended straw and come out into the cup!

Our hearts have four chambers, and this activity shows kids an example of how one of those chambers works. Children will learn the technology behind how a heart pumps blood throughout your body when it stops beating on its own. Your child pressing up and down on the balloon is kind of like how a defibrillator works.

Craft Source: MomBrite
Picture Source: KiwiCo

ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM

It’s time to learn about winter weather and make a homemade thermometer with this week’s focus on TECHNOLOGY.

You’ll need the following:

  • A clear plastic bottle/container
  • A straw that you can see through
  • Clay or playdoh
  • Red food colouring
  • Water
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Cooking oil

Instructions

  1. Add red food colouring, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup alcohol and a tablespoon of oil into a container and mix.
  2. Place your straw inside the container, leaving about ½ inch at the bottom and cover the container mouth with your clay.
  3. Place your DIY thermometer outside in the cold and look at the difference in how high the liquid rises in the straw at various temperatures.

Most thermometers contain alcohol due to its low freezing point. As the temperature of the alcohol increases, it will cause the liquid inside the homemade thermometer to rise! Let’s hope we have a warm winter.

Source: Little Bins For Little Hands

Oct 19, 2022 • , ,

ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM

It’s time to create some shadow puppets and make a video with this week’s theme of TECHNOLOGY.
With this activity, your child will learn how to create a video and using stop-motion technology.

You’ll need:

Print out the shadow puppet template or create your own! Cut out the outline of your choice (make sure to cut out the eye holes too). Now you will need to tape the skewer on the back of your puppet, this makes it easier to hold. Turn on the flashlight and use a big, blank wall as your stage. It’s time to put on a show! Once your child has practiced you can record the video and use a simple free video editor app to teach your child about video and editing technology.


If you try this with the children in your life, remember to share your creations with us on social media @childmuseumwpg

Source: STEAMsational.com

ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM

This week’s area of focus is TECHNOLOGY, and we’re learning how to code with Legos.

In this activity, children get to learn about how coding works and come up with their own secret messages to decode.

You’ll need:

  • Lego’s
  • Lego board
  • Coding template you can find here

First, you need to decide which two colours you’d like to use to make your secret code. We chose blue and yellow to indicate either a 0 or a 1. Next, use your template to write out your message on the Lego board. Once you have written your code out, have a friend try and figure out the message!

Can you decode our secret message? Use the template to find out!! You can try this with a friend if you need to pass along an important message.

(Answer: Children’s Museum ?)


Share your secret messages with us on social media @childmuseumwpg. We’d love to try and figure it out!

ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM


Source: Hello Ruby

Hello Ruby is a STEAM website that doubles as a whimsical way to learn about technology, computing, and coding. They’re about curiosity, playfulness and logic. Hello Ruby provides tools for kids, parents and educators to learn to understand programming in a fun and creative way. Web visitors can learn about computers, programming, and technology through their free, fun activities. There’s activities exploring robotics, geometry, CAPTCHA technology, input vs. output, and much more!

explore more:

ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM


Source: BrainPop

BrainPop is a series of websites that engages kids with learning games, animated movies, and activities. Its offerings help challenge students to reflect, make connections, and engage in deeper, curiosity-driven learning. With resources across the subject spectrum, from arts and music to engineering and tech, there’s BrainPop ideas and activities to inspire every learner. Explore BrainPop.

ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM


Source: Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code offers a huge archive of Code At Home activities for kids to discover. Create a public service announcement to stand up for mother nature, learn digital art, play a game where you create and catch a meteor, go through their step-by-step activist toolkit series, learn the text-based language Python, and much more! Each activity features a woman in tech who pioneered innovative technology. Learn more.

Hands-On Harley-Davidson

Hands-On Harley-Davidson™ is ready to hit the road! Developed by the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and on display for the first time in Canada, this educational travelling exhibition  illustrates science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts through a one-of-a-kind visitor experience that lets kids Dream It!… Build It!… and Ride It!

Read More…