15-Minute STEM Book 2

More quick, creative science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities for 5-11-year-olds

Emily Hunt

• Publisher: Crown House Publishing
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781785835070
• eBook ISBN:
  9781785835254
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Emily Hunt's 15-Minute STEM Book 2: More quick, creative science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities for 5-11-year-olds offers a stimulating selection of easy-to-resource STEM activities designed to engage and inspire young learners.

Like most teachers and parents, you probably recognise STEM as being an important priority area for modern education. You may, however, be wondering:

• What does STEM education look like for young learners?
• How do I get children excited about STEM education?
• How can children learn STEM skills in just 15 minutes?
• What equipment do I need to teach STEM activities?

Enter 15-minute STEM with the answers!

Full of engaging and practical ideas, this innovative resource builds on the success of Emily's 15-Minute STEM (ISBN 978-178583335-9) and reassures teachers and parents that they don't need to be experts to deliver high-quality STEM education.

Each of the 40 activities includes step-by-step instructions, takes just 15 minutes to complete and can be resourced from everyday materials found in the classroom or at home. This means that, with minimal preparation, teachers and parents can slot these cross-curricular activities into an otherwise busy day - simultaneously broadening children's learning and piquing their curiosity about the world around them.

Accompanying instructions are phrased in a way that encourages the children to lead the learning and exploration, and opportunities for further investigation are provided in order to broaden the learning focus. Hand-drawn illustrations and full colour photographs are also included alongside each activity to give an idea of what the end results might look like.

The activities make connections to real-world scenarios and have been linked to conceptually similar STEM-related careers - all of which are individually profiled in a glossary at the back of the book. The practical, problem-solving element of each activity offers a great way for children to develop important soft skills such as creativity, critical thinking and spatial awareness.

Suitable for both educators and parents of young children.

9

1. ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE WALK

How do animals protect themselves from predators?

You will need

• A camera, or phone/tablet with a camera
• A magnifying glass
• A timer

How to do it

1. Decide on an outdoor setting for your walk (e.g. a woodland, a field, a playground).
2. You have just 15 minutes to find and photograph as many examples of animal camouflage as you can find. See if you can find examples from across different animal groups (e.g. birds, mammals and arthropods, which includes insects).
3. Use a magnifying glass to investigate each animal further. Try looking closely at tree trunks, leaves and flowers, and within leaf litter.
4. When the time is up, review the findings and count how many examples you photographed.

Optional: Now select a different outdoor setting and see if you can find different examples of animal camouflage.

Investigate

The military often uses camouflage to protect its people and equipment from observation by enemy forces. See if you can find three examples.

What are we learning?

Some animals protect themselves from predators by blending into their surroundings using camouflage. Examples of this might be a grey squirrel against tree bark, a moth on a wall or a green shield bug on a leaf. Other animals use colour to make them stand out as a defence against predators. Examples of this are the red of a ladybird or the black and yellow stripes of a bee. This is called ‘warning colouration’ and signals to any potential predators that the animal is too costly to attack and eat, because it may be poisonous or aggressive.

10

2. BALLOON HOVERCRAFTS

How can we reduce friction using air?

You will need

• A balloon
• A CD
• A push-up sports bottle cap
• Sticky tack

How to do it

1. Push the bottle cap down into the closed position and place it in the middle of the CD, over the hole, securing using sticky tack.
2. Inflate the balloon and stretch the opening to place it over the bottle cap.
3. Position your hovercraft on a flat surface, lift the bottle cap (inside the balloon) up into the open position and watch your hovercraft move. You may need to give it a gentle nudge to get it started!
4. Now test your hovercraft on a range of different surfaces (e.g. table, carpet, concrete playground). On which surface does your balloon hovercraft move fastest? On which is it slowest?

Investigate

Now vary the amount of air in the balloon to see how this affects its speed of travel.

What are we learning?

Friction is a force that is created when surfaces rub against each other. The balloon releases air, creating an air cushion beneath the C...

Table of contents

• Praise
• Title Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: Making Real-World STEM Connections in Just 15 Minutes
• Health, Safety and a Few Other Bits
• 1. Animal Camouflage Walk
• 2. Balloon Hovercrafts
• 3. Beaver Dams
• 4. Bottle Rockets
• 5. Bug Count
• 6. Coded Messages
• 7. Colourful Chromatography
• 8. Cookie Excavation
• 9. Earthquake-Proof Structures
• 10. Emergency Shelters
• 11. Fizzing Colours
• 12. Geodesic Domes
• 13. Hot Air Balloon Flight
• 14. Hot Colours
• 15. Hurricane Houses
• 16. Knotted Problem
• 17. Marshmallow Constellations
• 18. Moon Phases
• 19. Musical Instruments
• 20. No Hands Pyramid
• 21. Ocean Plastic Problem
• 22. Origami Engineering
• 23. Paper Chain Challenge
• 24. Pasta Skeletons
• 25. Peeping Periscopes
• 26. Pirate Ship Plank
• 27. Pulley Flagpoles
• 28. Rainbow Leaf Walk
• 29. Ramp Racing
• 30. Rube Goldberg Machines
• 31. Salt Pendulum
• 32. Scared Pepper
• 33. Shadows and Sundials
• 34. Spiderweb Engineering
• 35. Straw Roller Coasters
• 36. Tantalising Tangrams
• 37. Volcanic Eruptions
• 38. Water Bottle Fountain
• 39. Wind Turbine Challenge
• 40. Winter Coats
• STEM Jobs Glossary
• 15 Final STEM Activity Ideas
• Further Reading for Adults
• Answers
• 15-Minute STEM
• Copyright