Turn Up the STEAM

Science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) play a huge role in the classroom. But as a parent, how can you help your kids connect to the subjects and inspire a love of learning? STEAM learning happens naturally as children explore, but you can make STEAM education a fun family affair for prioritizing the topics no matter where you are.

Science

In the Backyard:

Astronomy is the science of studying celestial objects and phenomena, which includes the sun, moon, planets and stars. On a clear night, go stargazing. What constellations can your child spot? Have her track the phases of the moon in a notebook. How does the day’s weather change the night sky?

Visit:

• Fernbank Science Center for a live honeybee exhibit, the Apollo 6 space capsule, a planetarium show and more.
• Discover Science Center offers special workshops and programs.
• Tellus Science Museum has special and permanent exhibits with archaeological artifacts, communications technology and more, as well as a planetarium.
• Fernbank Museum for exploring combustion, aerodynamics, constellations, a STEAM Lab for hands-on learning and more.
• Museum of Design Atlanta’s “THREADS of CHANGE: Design & Data” translates scientific data into textile installations for a special look at our planet.

Experiment:

Make a papier-mâché volcano with baking soda and vinegar, drop Mentos in a two-liter soda bottle, or design and launch a bottle rocket. Make your own lava lamp using a plastic bottle, water, vegetable oil, fizzing tablets and food coloring. Find instructions online.

Read:

Combine the beauty and whimsy of fairy tales with the science of physics with the Fairy Tale Physics series from Sarah Allen. With the four books, explore fluid mechanics, light, gravity and Newton’s laws.

Online:

Listen to Tumble, a science podcast for kids. Episodes cover how vision works, time travel, spiders and more.

Find hands-on science projects, educational videos, challenges and more at sciencebuddies.org.

Out and About:

Spring is on its way! Encourage your child to look around and ask questions. What is growing in the crack on the sidewalk? Can you spot any spring blooms? Do you see any insects? What birds do you spot? Consider creating a springtime scavenger hunt to help your children pay attention to their surroundings.

Play:

Find out who in your family is a super scientist with QUOKKA: Who Knows Science Better? This family trivia card game has more than 500 questions for delving into biology, physics, chemistry and more.

Technology

In the Backyard:

If you have an outdated PC or electronic device, allow your child to use it for tinkering. Set up a space with small screwdrivers, wire cutter, pliers, tweezers and trays. Using kid-safe tools, have her dissect the device and explore the different components of the technology. For safety, give your child goggles to wear, and cut or remove the power cord or batteries.

Visit:

• Southeastern Railway Museum to explore how transportation technology has evolved. Admission includes one train ride.
• Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame for an interactive look at football and AI technology.
• Mimms Museum of Techhnology and Art to view a timeline of computer history, digital artifacts, supercomputers and more.

Experiment:

Experiment with building your own toy planes using clothespins, popsicle sticks, glue and markers. After decorating, you’ll make a two-winged plane by gluing one popsicle stick to the top of the clothespin and another to the bottom. See full instructions at pbs.org. For further experimentation, make paper airplanes and test which creation can fly farther.

Read:

Join Agent Asha on her action-packed spy adventures combining thrilling stories with real-world tech concepts. The series includes books and a coding activity book.

Online:

Websites and apps make technology lessons easy to access and fun for your kids. Visit code.org, kodable.com, girlswhocode.com, lightbot.com, scratch.mit.edu or tynker.com.

Explore computer science with games and puzzles using cards, string, crayons and more at csunplugged.org.

Out and About:

Think about the benefits of technology and how it helps keep us safe and makes our lives easier. On the road, seat belts, traffic lights and signs for pedestrians maintain order while traveling. In a building, automatic doors or elevators make it easier for people to move around. What other inventions can your child find?

Play:

Train to become a member of Oblivion, a hacker team that thwarts cybercriminals with Hacker from ThinkFun. Race against time to collect data chips, avoid viruses, trigger alarms and safely exit the program.

Engineering

In the Backyard:

Construct different types of kites for an outdoor experiment. What happens with different materials or shapes? Try to fly the various shapes to see which one works the best.

Visit:

• LEGO Discovery Center for LEGO play and building.
• Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center to see how water has traveled through time. Their STEAM Lab explores different themes monthly.
• Museum of Aviation for 85 historic U.S. Air Force aircraft, missiles and cockpits, and visit the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.
• Delta Flight Museum for historic hangars with rare artifacts and aircraft (reopening April 7).
• Children’s Museum of Atlanta for “Tools for Solutions” to explore simple machines, build with city blocks and more.

Experiment:

Experiment with building. Try wooden blocks, K’NEX, Lincoln Logs, TINKERTOYs, MAGNA- TILES or LEGOs. Can he build a structure that will house one of his other toys? Can he build something that will hold the weight of a book?

Read:

Part of a new series, pick up “The Engineer’s Duck: World of Engineering” by Andrew Sario and Mari Acierda for an introduction into the world of engineering.

Online:

Build with challenges, create new stuff, play engineering games and more with Design Squad Global.

Find design challenges that use common household items at engineergirl.org.

Out and About:

Introduce your child to the six simple machines: wheel and axle, level, wedge, inclined plane, screw and pulley. These machines are the most basic mechanisms to make work easier. Next time you’re out and about, see how many examples of these machines you can find.

Play:

Race to be the first player to build the structure shown on the blueprint card and beat your opponent with Goliath’s Build or Boom. Build quickly so you can “boom” the other player’s building.

Art

In the Backyard:

Set up a messy and creative activity for your child to try. Arrange an easel with sheets of watercolor paper, and then, using squirt guns or plastic spray bottles, have your child fill them with liquid watercolors for a new twist on painting. Find full instructions on firefliesandmudpies.com.

Visit:

• High Museum of Art for art projects, story times, educational programming and more.
• Hammonds House Museum to celebrate the artistic contributions made by artists of African descent.
• Center for Puppetry Arts to create and play with your own puppets.
• Atlanta Contemporary Art Center for a glimpse at new and commissioned works.
• Michael C. Carlos Museum explores the art and history of world cultures from Africa, the America, ancient Egypt and more.
• Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking to learn the history of papermaking, as well as see exhibits exploring art, history and science.
• Spelman College Museum of Fine Art for the only museum in the nation dedicated to art by and about women of the African diaspora.
• Atlanta History Center’s Goizueta Children’s Experience connects children to Atlanta’s arts and culture scene with hands-on activities.

Read:

Practice artistic skills with “How to Draw 700 Cool Things for Boys and Girls Who Love Action and Adventure” by Jorge. Explore step-by-step instructions to draw animals, dinosaurs, vehicles and more.

Online:

Play games, view artistic masterpieces, visit museums from around the world, explore online exhibits and more with artsandculture.google.com.

In collaboration with the Smithsonian Museum, explore Crayola’s Create and Play for history, science and art activities, like coloring pages, crafting rockets and painting puzzles, at crayolacreateandplay.com.

Out and About:

On a neighborhood or park walk, ask your child to pay attention to her surroundings. What public art does she see? How do the murals or sculptures make her feel? What does the art do for the area? To find public art near you, visit streetartmap.org.

Play:

Collaboratively create a drawing and spot the fake artist who doesn’t know what’s being drawn with Oink Games’ A Fake Artist Goes to New York. Draw creatively to keep the game going but prevent your opponent from guessing.

Create imaginative drawings based on prompt cards for both competitive and cooperative game play with Picablo: The Shape-Drawing Party Game from Crated with Love.

Math

In the Backyard:

Combine adventures in the great outdoors with math exploration. Count the number of trees in your backyard. Organize different colored rocks in a pattern. Have a competition to see who can find the most pinecones — determine who wins both by number and by weight. Write out simple equations using sidewalk chalk and ask your child to solve them. Draw a hopscotch game, roll dice to see what number your child should land on, and discuss probability with him. Make mudpies with various water containers of different sizes to explore volume.

Visit:

• The APEX Museum for “The Women in STEM” exhibition.
• Atlanta Monetary Museum/Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to learn the history of money and how our financial system operates.

Experiment:

In the kitchen, double or halve her favorite recipe with her help. Measuring, equivalent fractions and conversions are ways for her to practice math skills.

Read:

Learn how to solve math problems with Gus the Plus and Linus the Minus with the Math Missions series from Jennifer Jones.

Online:

Play math games — you can sort by topic or by grade — at coolmath4kids.com and funbrain.com.

Discover the world of DragonBox’s digital learning experience by exploring activities for ages 4 and older with numbers, algebra and more.

Out and About:

Help your child open a savings account. Researching offers and rates can be a great way to explain interest to him.

Before heading to the grocery store, create a budget with your child, and while at the store, have her help you find the best savings.

Play:

Teach basic counting and beginning math skills with CoolToys’ Monkey Balance. Learn simple addition and subtraction, and go bananas when you collect five cards.