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Tagged with 'STEM'

Why I'm Teaching My Daughters STEM Skills

Anybody who knows us know that Danielle and I want our daughters to have all of the opportunities to succeed as they get older. Right now, that means introducing them to the skills they’ll need to live and work in the 21st century. This is especially in areas like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.Unfortunately, not every little girl gets the chance to reach their full potential in STEM.  According to Girls Who Code, in 1995, 37% of computer scientists were women. Today, it’s only 24%. If we do nothing, in ten years the number of women in computing will decrease to just 22%.

I think that that’s really silly.

We’re all created equally. Every little girl out there is just as capable, and just as curious, as every little boy, and they should all have the chance to explore the worlds of science and math. Little kids’ minds work just the same no matter their gender, so why should gender be a barrier in STEM? Why should gender be a barrier in anything?Danielle and I want to make sure that our girls have as much exposure to STEM-building activities as possible. It’s something that we’re passionate about, and it’s something that we know works. The girls may not be able to code a computer program yet, but exploring early coding concepts builds skills! It has helped them develop an understanding of things like cause-and-effect that they now use to understand the world around them.That’s the biggest benefit of STEM learning, really: it builds the critical thinking that you need in your everyday life. That kind of skill goes far beyond a career as a scientist.Even if our girls don’t go on to become engineers or programmers, they’ll still grow up with the problem-solving skills that will help them succeed in whatever they want to do.

Let’s see a barrier stand up to that.

Why I'm Teaching My Daughters STEM Skills Anybody who knows us know that Danielle and I want our daughters to have all of the opportunities to succeed as they get older. Right now, that means introducing them to the skills they’ll need to live and work in the 21st century. This is especially in areas like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.Unfortunately, not every little girl gets the chance to reach their full potential in STEM.  According to Girls Who Code, in 1995, 37% of computer scientists were women. Today, it’s only 24%. If we do nothing, in ten years the number of women in computing will decrease to just 22%.

I think that that’s really silly.

We’re all created equally. Every little girl out there is just as capable, and just as curious, as every little boy, and they should all have the chance to explore the worlds of science and math. Little kids’ minds work just the same no matter their gender, so why should gender be a barrier in STEM? Why should gender be a barrier in anything?Danielle and I want to make sure that our girls have as much exposure to STEM-building activities as possible. It’s something that we’re passionate about, and it’s something that we know works. The girls may not be able to code a computer program yet, but exploring early coding concepts builds skills! It has helped them develop an understanding of things like cause-and-effect that they now use to understand the world around them.That’s the biggest benefit of STEM learning, really: it builds the critical thinking that you need in your everyday life. That kind of skill goes far beyond a career as a scientist.Even if our girls don’t go on to become engineers or programmers, they’ll still grow up with the problem-solving skills that will help them succeed in whatever they want to do.

Let’s see a barrier stand up to that.

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10 Incredible Things Robots Can Do

10 Incredible Things Robots Can Do

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Happy Robotics Week! We have a fun list here that will make you say "Robots do WHAT?!"Once the stuff of futuristic fantasies, robotics has really come into its own! From cooking dinner to performing surgery, robotic capabilities are rapidly expanding far beyond the auto assembly line and into trades and tasks that once seemed impossible. Read on for a summary of some of the surprisingly helpful things robots are doing right now and be amazed!

Believe it or not, robots can:

  1. Cook!

    Choose a recipe from the programmed library and Moley Robotics’ Robotic Kitchen will make it for you – from measuring and mixing ingredients to baking, broiling, simmering, and stirring.

    Incredible Things Robots

  2. Outrun You!

    A mechanical cheetah built by the engineers at MIT tops out at speeds close to 30 m.p.h. This cruisin’ kitty is designed to help with search and rescue efforts in disaster areas that are not smooth enough for wheeled robots.Incredible Robotics

  3. Fly the Friendly Skies!

    Drones are robots, too, and they’re working all over the world, doing everything from delivering blood to monitoring Australia’s shorelines for sharks.Incredible Robotics

  4. Help You See Better!

    Robots can turn a series of numbers into prescription eyeglasses, all in less than an hour! Robots Incredible

  5. Prep Your Meds!

    From pharmaceutical prescriptions to prepping IVs, these nurse bots are rolling behind the scenes in pharmacies and hospitals. Since there is so much that goes into keeping people healthy, this is a huge help in the medical field!Robots Medical

  6.  Make Music!

    Brain.fm’s tunes are designed – by robots – to be in synch with your brain waves while making some awesome beats.Robots Music

  7. Shape You Up!

    Personal trainer bots are leading exercise sessions with the elderly. They even monitor participants and can detect correct body position.Robots Work Out

  8. Read Your Mood!

    A companion robot named Pepper is programmed to read facial expressions and respond accordingly with songs to match your vibe, supportive comments, and more.Robots Mood

  9. Make Deliveries!

    Robots are delivering everything from online orders to room service. Robots Room Service

  10. Perform Surgery!

    Medical facilities including the famed Mayo Clinic use robotics to operate on patients. Using robotics provides “more precision, flexibility, and control than is possible with conventional techniques."Robots Surgery
  

Some may worry that the increasing capabilities of robotics will eventually eliminate some human responsibilities, yet remember that these machines are nothing without the human element of programming. Start your kiddo down the path to programming today with Botley the Coding Robot!

Botley RoboticsRobots

10 Incredible Things Robots Can Do
10 Incredible Things Robots Can Do

Join our email list for more free activities!

Happy Robotics Week! We have a fun list here that will make you say "Robots do WHAT?!"Once the stuff of futuristic fantasies, robotics has really come into its own! From cooking dinner to performing surgery, robotic capabilities are rapidly expanding far beyond the auto assembly line and into trades and tasks that once seemed impossible. Read on for a summary of some of the surprisingly helpful things robots are doing right now and be amazed!

Believe it or not, robots can:

  1. Cook!

    Choose a recipe from the programmed library and Moley Robotics’ Robotic Kitchen will make it for you – from measuring and mixing ingredients to baking, broiling, simmering, and stirring.

    Incredible Things Robots

  2. Outrun You!

    A mechanical cheetah built by the engineers at MIT tops out at speeds close to 30 m.p.h. This cruisin’ kitty is designed to help with search and rescue efforts in disaster areas that are not smooth enough for wheeled robots.Incredible Robotics

  3. Fly the Friendly Skies!

    Drones are robots, too, and they’re working all over the world, doing everything from delivering blood to monitoring Australia’s shorelines for sharks.Incredible Robotics

  4. Help You See Better!

    Robots can turn a series of numbers into prescription eyeglasses, all in less than an hour! Robots Incredible

  5. Prep Your Meds!

    From pharmaceutical prescriptions to prepping IVs, these nurse bots are rolling behind the scenes in pharmacies and hospitals. Since there is so much that goes into keeping people healthy, this is a huge help in the medical field!Robots Medical

  6.  Make Music!

    Brain.fm’s tunes are designed – by robots – to be in synch with your brain waves while making some awesome beats.Robots Music

  7. Shape You Up!

    Personal trainer bots are leading exercise sessions with the elderly. They even monitor participants and can detect correct body position.Robots Work Out

  8. Read Your Mood!

    A companion robot named Pepper is programmed to read facial expressions and respond accordingly with songs to match your vibe, supportive comments, and more.Robots Mood

  9. Make Deliveries!

    Robots are delivering everything from online orders to room service. Robots Room Service

  10. Perform Surgery!

    Medical facilities including the famed Mayo Clinic use robotics to operate on patients. Using robotics provides “more precision, flexibility, and control than is possible with conventional techniques."Robots Surgery
  

Some may worry that the increasing capabilities of robotics will eventually eliminate some human responsibilities, yet remember that these machines are nothing without the human element of programming. Start your kiddo down the path to programming today with Botley the Coding Robot!

Botley RoboticsRobots

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5 Reasons why Coding is Important for Young Minds
5 Reasons why Coding is Important for Young Minds
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Botley Lesson Plan

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Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

Click here to download your botley classroom coding lesson plan

This Botley lesson plan will help students compare weights, distances and forces of an object. The lesson plan also teaches students how to record and graph the data from their coding experiments.
Botley Lesson Plan

Join our email list for more free activities!

Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

Click here to download your botley classroom coding lesson plan

This Botley lesson plan will help students compare weights, distances and forces of an object. The lesson plan also teaches students how to record and graph the data from their coding experiments.
 READ MORE

St. Patrick's Day STEM Classroom Activities

Seasonal STEM is a great way to introduce your students to the engineering process in a fun way. St. Patrick’s day leprechaun mischief and rainbow science activities are some of the absolute best to capture the interest of your kiddos and engage them in hands-on STEM experiences. Whether you’re doing STEM at home or school, check out a few of my favorites below that work for nearly every grade level, and with minimal expense and effort to implement!

Rainbow Round-Up:

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day means rainbow fun galore! Set the stage and build background knowledge by exploring colors, light, and color mixing. These color paddles and color mixing lenses by Learning Resources are perfect for rainbow play and exploration. Let your students experiment with shining light through individual colors and also play with color mixing by overlapping primary color paddles to make secondary colors. After that warm-up, transition from color mixing to into rainbow fun with one of my favorite, simple activities for this time of year. The best milk color changing experiment I have found is from Spangler Science (here). Watch the video and follow the detailed, yet simple instructions to have your littles mixing colors like St. Patrick’s Day experts! My students loved this activity so much, as did their parents during our family STEM night. 

Leprechaun Tracks Green Goo:

In my classroom and at home with my own son, we always talk about how leprechauns leave tracks and a trail wherever they go. Sometimes I use a footprint stamp and washable green ink to stamp out his path and the kids LOVE it! Kick this up a notch by then having your children/students create Leprechaun GOO! We all know slime/goo is all the rage, and so if you can’t been them...join them. Watch this step-by-step instructional video from Steve Spangler Science (what I used in my classroom) to see how to create your own green goo that the kiddos will love. 

 

TEACHER TESTED TIPS:

 
  1. Purchase dollar store plastic tablecloths to cover your experiment surfaces.
  2. Have students wear oversized shirts or smocks while making the goo.
  3. Provide plastic food service gloves to protect hands from goop and food coloring.
  4. Use foil baking/roasting pans to prevent messy splatters during mixing.

Lucky Charms Screen-Free Coding:

Check out this amazing, yet simple St. Patrick’s Day screen-free coding activity from early childhood STEM guru, Brooke Brown, of Teach Oustide the Box. For just $2.00, this simple St. Patrick’s Day themed introduction to block-style coding is perfect for Kindergarten through third graders as they learn the basics of “unplugged” programming without computers. After completing activities such as these on paper, they can apply similar block coding strategies to coding websites and apps for kids such as code.org and Kodable, and eventually to more advanced languages of coding. To allow students to be most successful, please MODEL and clearly discuss directions for this activity before they complete it with partners. Grab some Lucky Charms and get ready to go for the (leprechaun) gold!
 

LIFE-SIZED TIP:

Use the Reversable Graph It Mat by Learning Resources and sorting manipulatives, clipart, or paper cutouts to create your own super-sized version of this screen-free coding activity. You might want to use this as a warm-up and then transition to the activity above from Teach Outside the Box.

Leprechaun Trap STEM Challenge:

Perhaps the most common spring holiday STEM Challenge is to have your students/children create a leprechaun trap using the engineering design process. This is a great activity to leave open-ended to allow for maximum maker-creativity and end products. If you would like some amazing inspiration, check out the plethora of ideas on this post to get you started. From trap design to clever bait, you’ll have plenty to choose from to get you started. The best part? Almost everything you need can be found around the house. If you want to supercharge your leprechaun trap construction, try weaving this gears set by Learning Resources into your engineering design plan and process. They will add a level of complexity and fun to your con-TRAP-tions! 
Luck-o-the-Irish to you as you enjoy exploring these awesome seasonal hands-on STEM activities with your own little leprechauns!
 
St. Patrick's Day STEM Classroom Activities!
St. Patrick's Day STEM Classroom Activities
Seasonal STEM is a great way to introduce your students to the engineering process in a fun way. St. Patrick’s day leprechaun mischief and rainbow science activities are some of the absolute best to capture the interest of your kiddos and engage them in hands-on STEM experiences. Whether you’re doing STEM at home or school, check out a few of my favorites below that work for nearly every grade level, and with minimal expense and effort to implement!

Rainbow Round-Up:

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day means rainbow fun galore! Set the stage and build background knowledge by exploring colors, light, and color mixing. These color paddles and color mixing lenses by Learning Resources are perfect for rainbow play and exploration. Let your students experiment with shining light through individual colors and also play with color mixing by overlapping primary color paddles to make secondary colors. After that warm-up, transition from color mixing to into rainbow fun with one of my favorite, simple activities for this time of year. The best milk color changing experiment I have found is from Spangler Science (here). Watch the video and follow the detailed, yet simple instructions to have your littles mixing colors like St. Patrick’s Day experts! My students loved this activity so much, as did their parents during our family STEM night. 

Leprechaun Tracks Green Goo:

In my classroom and at home with my own son, we always talk about how leprechauns leave tracks and a trail wherever they go. Sometimes I use a footprint stamp and washable green ink to stamp out his path and the kids LOVE it! Kick this up a notch by then having your children/students create Leprechaun GOO! We all know slime/goo is all the rage, and so if you can’t been them...join them. Watch this step-by-step instructional video from Steve Spangler Science (what I used in my classroom) to see how to create your own green goo that the kiddos will love. 

 

TEACHER TESTED TIPS:

 
  1. Purchase dollar store plastic tablecloths to cover your experiment surfaces.
  2. Have students wear oversized shirts or smocks while making the goo.
  3. Provide plastic food service gloves to protect hands from goop and food coloring.
  4. Use foil baking/roasting pans to prevent messy splatters during mixing.

Lucky Charms Screen-Free Coding:

Check out this amazing, yet simple St. Patrick’s Day screen-free coding activity from early childhood STEM guru, Brooke Brown, of Teach Oustide the Box. For just $2.00, this simple St. Patrick’s Day themed introduction to block-style coding is perfect for Kindergarten through third graders as they learn the basics of “unplugged” programming without computers. After completing activities such as these on paper, they can apply similar block coding strategies to coding websites and apps for kids such as code.org and Kodable, and eventually to more advanced languages of coding. To allow students to be most successful, please MODEL and clearly discuss directions for this activity before they complete it with partners. Grab some Lucky Charms and get ready to go for the (leprechaun) gold!
 

LIFE-SIZED TIP:

Use the Reversable Graph It Mat by Learning Resources and sorting manipulatives, clipart, or paper cutouts to create your own super-sized version of this screen-free coding activity. You might want to use this as a warm-up and then transition to the activity above from Teach Outside the Box.

Leprechaun Trap STEM Challenge:

Perhaps the most common spring holiday STEM Challenge is to have your students/children create a leprechaun trap using the engineering design process. This is a great activity to leave open-ended to allow for maximum maker-creativity and end products. If you would like some amazing inspiration, check out the plethora of ideas on this post to get you started. From trap design to clever bait, you’ll have plenty to choose from to get you started. The best part? Almost everything you need can be found around the house. If you want to supercharge your leprechaun trap construction, try weaving this gears set by Learning Resources into your engineering design plan and process. They will add a level of complexity and fun to your con-TRAP-tions! 
Luck-o-the-Irish to you as you enjoy exploring these awesome seasonal hands-on STEM activities with your own little leprechauns!
 
St. Patrick's Day STEM Classroom Activities!
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Girls Making A Difference!
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Teach Botley How to Subtract

Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

Click here to download your botley classroom coding activity

Botley is bringing subtraction to a new dimension as students learn how to sequence while building on early math skills. 

Share your classroom coding success with us on social media using #Botley!

Teach Botley How to Subtract

Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

Click here to download your botley classroom coding activity

Botley is bringing subtraction to a new dimension as students learn how to sequence while building on early math skills. 

Share your classroom coding success with us on social media using #Botley!

 READ MORE

Teach Botley How to Add

Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

 

Click here to download your botley classroom coding activity

Botley combines coding sequences with hands-on math in this interactive early coding activity designed to engage multiple learning styles.Share your classroom coding success with us on social media using #Botley!
Teach Botley How to Add
Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

 

Click here to download your botley classroom coding activity

Botley combines coding sequences with hands-on math in this interactive early coding activity designed to engage multiple learning styles.Share your classroom coding success with us on social media using #Botley!
 READ MORE

Teach Botley to Draw a Shape

Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

Click here to download your botley classroom coding activity

Introduce sequences, loops and debugging to early coders by programming Botley to follow basic shape paths.  Now, that’s a path to 21st Century success!Botley Code TeacherShare your classroom coding success with us on social media using #Botley!
Teach Botley to Draw a Shape
Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

Click here to download your botley classroom coding activity

Introduce sequences, loops and debugging to early coders by programming Botley to follow basic shape paths.  Now, that’s a path to 21st Century success!Botley Code TeacherShare your classroom coding success with us on social media using #Botley!
 READ MORE
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