Learning environment – a stemful mind

A simple STEM play setup with natural materials that you can leave out and come back to throughout the day. This activity is a lovely way to create something with your kids. Something they can later on use to explore and understand the world a bit better. Keep reading to find out how you can make your own DIY scale for STEM and use it to explore scientific and mathematical concepts through play.

Materials

These are the materials we used to create or simple DIY scale for STEM and nature play:

Hanger
Baskets
String
A place to hang it (we just attached a stick to our railing and hung it on there)
Natural materials
Optional: Clothespins with numbers on them

We tied the string to the baskets and found a place to put our hanger. We love involving our kids in this part of the process too. By modelling this DIY attitude, we are cultivating a their own “can do” attitude. They are problem solving, they are creating things they can play with. It doesn’t just magically appear, or is bought from a store. We use the resources we have at home and make something with it, developing resourcefulness. Somethink key in STEM and life in general.

STEM skills

Once the set up is complete, you can explore the scale togethere. Here are some examples of what you can talk about while you play:

Scientific concepts: weight, materials
Categorizing: find out what objects are heavier/lighter, use different combinations and compare
Observation: what happens when objects are heavier?
Math: how many shells do we need to balance a stone? What is heavier 4 shells or 2 pinecones?
Conversations: Talk and wonder about what you see and the materials you are using