STE(A)M at Home

Tinkering with found materials is a natural for makers and Science City’s Maker Studio shares ideas to get you started on Instructables. Check out the Maker Studio Channel to find everything from Shrink Bots to DNA Origami. Science City’s education team also has a series of Instructables to try.

Maker Studio Instructables
Science City Ed Instructables
Science City on Facebook 

On the Burns & McDonnell STEM resources page you can find personal stories and lessons to help kids recognize and embrace the possibilities of STEM through free activities, how-to videos and more.

A small sampling:

Incredible Edible Landfill. Understand how high-tech landfills are designed. This tasty activity uses kid-friendly foods to demonstrate each layer’s purpose and encourages kids to think about where trash ends up.

Taste of Mother Nature. Learn the science of elements, metals and magnetism by exploring what your breakfast cereal has in common with the Earth’s crust.

Static Electricity. Use balloons to discover the strength and limitations of static electricity and its ability to move objects.

Water Filter Fun. Explore the basis concepts behind a water filtration system, which plays a significant role in producing cleaner water.

Experiment with materials typically found at home with the guidance of these STEM professionals. Each video features a simple science experiment, from ooblek to penny boats.

aSTEAM Village’s Virtual Academy brings together not only STEM/STEAM learning but also K-12 core classes and training for job certifications. Access to the Virtual Academy is free; a quick registration process is required. A sampling of STEM-related content includes:

Redbird Flight Simulation Classes

Tech Talk Tuesdays with Microsoft

Orion’s Quest, a chance to work with scientists on space-based research

Camp Invention is organized by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, which has collected all kinds of ideas for learning at home, including a virtual visit to the museum and online challenges, plus this PDF guide of DIY STEM activities you can do while at home.

Resource Hub

Virtual Museum Visit

Blog with 60+ STEM activities

Find new at-home educational activities posted weekly, including downloadable handouts and videos from museum staff. Activities for Little Explorers (ages 3-5) cover about 45 minutes with a lesson, story time, activity or experiment, and a craft.

JAM sessions for ages 6-10 merge curiosity, education and interactive experiences as children research natural history and STEM subjects.

KCPT, Kansas City’s public television station, is adjusting its daytime schedule to support learning from home and has pulled together lots of materials to support parents and kids. The station’s Education Department also put together a webinar for parents navigating this new world (especially suited for parents of 3 to 8 year olds) and has curated activities from across PBS.

The Kansas City Zoo’s “Zoosdays” are virtual Zoomobile visits with new themes each month.

Learn about animals and nature together while practicing important, age-appropriate skills.

The KU Natural History Museum From Home webpage includes a variety of educational explorations and DIY activities such as Be a Bambiraptor, Microbes at Home, Act Like an Aye-Aye and more. Follow the museum on Facebook and check the STEM Connect-KC events calendar for more learning fun: https://www.facebook.com/kunaturalhistory/.

The Linda Hall Library is a nonprofit independent research library devoted to science, engineering, and technology and it’s bringing its popular free lecture series online. Check the calendar for upcoming talks and the archives for popular past discussions ranging from storm chasing to vaccines.

The library also offers pages from its collections for coloring and has a resource center for information about Covid-19.

When you’re ready to take the learning fun outdoors, Wildwood Outdoor Education Center has you covered with a series of videos and related activities—from how to grow your own veggies from food scraps to eco-printing with plants and flowers.

Pitsco Education’s STEM at Home page features a number of free resources, lesson plans, blogs and webinars that offer students a variety of ways to continue their learning wherever they are.

The team at Olsson put together this printable coloring book to share with the KC STEM community.

Inside you’ll find plenty of pages to color while learning about different disciplines within the engineering field.

Short Circuit Robotics is a local STEM camp provider. To help families supplement what students are doing for school, Short Circuit Robotics is offering a weekly STEM curriculum covering making, engineering, coding, 3D printing, digital media and more.

Understanding how to use your strengths and interests—your Agilities—is important in affirming education and career goals, boosting skills and preparing for a successful tomorrow. These resources from The DeBruce Foundation will support you on your journey.

PREP-KC uses the Nepris platform to connect local classrooms with industry professionals year-round. For a limited time, students and parents can access the platform directly at no charge to tap into virtual chats or prerecorded sessions with professionals from all sorts of career fields.

Flatland KC’s “Getting to Work” series is part of the national American Graduate program and looks at how Kansas Citians find pathways to gainful employment.

This segment on stackable credentials is a great place to start watching:

See the full playlist to see how students are preparing for work in construction, computer science, film making, entrepreneurship and more >

Coding & Computer Science

Math