STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) must continue during the summer months. Just because school is not in session, the learning must not be lost. Therefore, educators and parents must keep students’ brains engaged throughout the summer. Hence, STEM activities are one way to engage the brain. STEM learning is everywhere. It is as informal as a nature hike, simple experiments, cooking/baking, measuring and even star gazing.
STEM Summer Activities
Activities during the summer for ‘minds-on-hands-on’ are simple. STEM is about keeping children engaged in learning and not watching videos.
• Encourage students/children to plan an activity or design a game.
• Build their communication skills. Text message and social medial builds communication skills and increases technological skills. Converse with other adults and peers. Create and design various cards to send for birthdays and other celebrations.
• Peak their curiosity and encourage questions.
• Discuss a movie or a book and have children explain what and why something happened.
• Also, watch for real-world engineering and technology examples. Trips to an amusement park are a perfect place to see engineering at work. In addition to amusement parks, construction on the roads and bridges show students projects that involve engineers.
• Encourage team-work.
• Look for summer camps that involve STEM activities.
As summer approaches, plan to keep the learning going and avoid the summer learning gap. Even in inclement weather or in a car on a long drive, have children design on a tablet or use building blocks to create a project. Legos are great for STEM activities because they come in various shapes and sizes. Learning about STEM activities is important because the future depends on it. It’s about manufacturing, food production, health care and much, much more. Activities that show real-life in action pulls together the concepts studied in school. Students actually see the development of what they have learned.
