STEM Archives – a stemful mind

I recently made a pyramid in one of my workshops for kids and it was an absolute blast! The kids loved decorating the different parts and figuring out how to put everything together. I realized that it was such a great STEM activity to explore shapes and work on spatial awareness.

STEM activity pyramid shapes spatial awareness

It was also so much fun that I wanted to share it with you and give you a way to create teachable STEM moments at home. I will first give you the process of creating the pyramid and then provide you with an example of how you could introduce the STEM activity and guide it so that some STEM learning happens!

STEM Activity: How to Build a Pyramid

Building a pyramid is quite simple and you probably have all the materials you need at home!

Tools and Materials

Materials you will need:

Cardboard – we used an old cardboard box from a recent package I received from an online purchase, I’m sure you have some of those lying around 😉
Decoration materials – we stencilled some hieroglyphics on, but you can just decorate however you want. Paint, glitter, stickers, glue some colorful cutout papers, the options are endless

Tools you will need:

Scissors to cut the shapes
Tape to hold the pyramid together – we used painters tape because it is what I had lying around but you can use duct tape too. Regular cello tape might not hold the pyramid together so well but you can definitely try! The 3-year-olds enjoyed the tape moment and our pyramid ended up covered in pieces of tape too!
Ruler to measure
Pencil

That’s it! Pretty simple right?

The Preparation

To build a pyramid you are going to basically need a square base and 4 triangles. Here is an image so it’s clearer:

I have provided the measurements we used but if you want to do your own, smaller or bigger here are the instructions:

First figure out how wide and how tall you want your pyramid
The width will be the measurement of your square base. Draw a square with this measurement
For the triangles, the base will be the width of the pyramid and the height will be the one you chose. Draw the base first and then mark the middle point. From that point, draw a straight perpendicular line (forming a T) measuring the height of your pyramid. Connect the edges to make your triangle. Repeat 4 times

Decorating and putting everything together

We decorated the individual shapes before putting it together. It is easier to do it flat on the ground and it gave it that extra wow factor once you build it but you can do it whenever you want.

To put the pyramid together, lie it flat on the ground and create this shape (decorated-side down):

Tape the edges of the square and the base of the triangles together. You can also add some paper to make a sturdier connection.

Now bring all the sides up and have someone hold the triangles together at the top while the other person tapes the sides together. And your pyramid is done! You can keep decorating it or put on some music and dance around it!

STEM Learning Guide

This is a great STEM activity if you are working on 3D figures and/or shapes. By drawing their attention to the shapes in the process of creating something.

Introducing the STEM Activity

First, you need to get your children interested and motivated about building a pyramid. Some kids might be excited just by the idea of building it but others might need some input beforehand. What you could do:

Show them photos or videos of pyramids and ask if they think you could build one together
Show them a cardboard box and a photo of a pyramid and ask them if they think you could transform the box into a pyramid together

Once they are excited and convinced they can build one you could ask some prep questions. Here are a few suggestions:

What shapes do you see in a pyramid? (For this it could be interesting to have a small prototype of the pyramid already made so they can look at it and touch it with their hands)
What tools do you think we need?
What materials could we use to build the pyramid?
Where should we start?

During the STEM Activity

Depending on how old your children are you can increase difficulty in the shape drawing part. Things you could do:

Draw a T and ask them how they would connect the edges to draw a triangle
Draw two parallel lines and ask them how they would connect edges to draw a square
Make just one line and ask them to draw the rest of the square (all sides should be the same)
Draw the base of the triangle and ask them to draw a triangle that has a specific height

Once all shapes are drawn, cut out and decorated you can ask them to arrange the pieces to construct the pyramid. Again, depending on age you could increase difficulty. Options:

Show them the figure it should form and they have to copy it
If you made a prototype, let them look at it and figure out how to arrange the pieces themselves. They could even deconstruct the prototype to see how to build it back up

Some follow up Questions for Spatial Awareness and to get their Brains going

If the base were a rectangle/triangle, what would we need to change?
What could we build with just squares?
Why is the pyramid shorter than the height of the triangle sides?

Bonus fun

To add some extra fun and cultural knowledge you could ask them what they think pyramids were used for and find out together. Bury some treasures inside before putting the pyramid together and seal it up for posterity! A follow up activity could be… how can we get our treasures back?!

Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know if you hid any treasures in a pyramid lately or if you have any questions.

For more information about STEM and how to transform your STEM activities at home, check out these posts:

Check out other fun STEM activities to sneak in some STEM learning:

Happy STEM learning!

Have you lately been hearing about STEM and how important it is for the future of our children? STEM education is gaining traction in the schooling system but there is still a long way to go. In this post, I want to share with you some information about STEM education and the reasons I believe parents should be supporting STEM learning at home.

Let’s Start with the basics, What is STEM?

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is currently being used to define a methodology or educational practice that combines these disciplines into an interdisciplinary approach to learning the subjects. The concept is widely extended, however, there is still a long way to go for integrating this methodology into every school. Lack of resources is one main issue for supporting this educational method. But don’t worry! There are ways you can promote and use STEM learning at home!

Why is STEM Learning Important?

You will read everywhere that STEM is mainly important because of its professional relevance in our current technology-driven society. And this is true, however, it is not only about the future job market. Learning through a STEM approach means applying STEM skills and combining them to solve real-life problems. Contrary to popular belief, it does not only help children develop science and math skills but it also works on their so-called 21st-century skills. Critical thinking, analytical and organizational skills as well as creativity and communication are just some of the skills that go hand in hand with learning through a STEM methodology. It is inquiry-based, meaning it aims to answer questions, and therefore helps children nurture their innate curiosity and love of learning.

So, in other words, STEM learning is a way to prepare children to tackle real-life situations, where problems cannot be clearly divided into separate school subjects and this is where the importance really lies.

Reasons to Support STEM Learning at Home

By exposing your children to STEM activities and experiences you can help them reap the benefits of this educational approach and have fun at the same time! Because discovering how the world works and solving its problems is motivating and engaging. And doing it from the comfort of your home has many additional benefits that support this educational style. So without further ado here are my top 5 reasons for supporting STEM learning at home:

1. STEM Skills are an Important Toolkit for the Future

STEM learning will offer your child a way of understanding how the world works. Your child may not become a super scientist or the best engineer, but with just a little bit of STEM knowledge their mind will open up to a whole new level of awareness about their surrounding that will help them solve problems, make informed decisions and navigate a technology-driven future. By giving your child a chance to experience STEM learning, they are gaining crucial and relevant skills not only for their future professional life but also for their everyday life and this, I believe, is definitely something that should be promoted at home.

2. Family Involvement is Key

You are your child’s first teacher and they will continue learning from you during their whole life. Research shows that parental engagement in education is associated with a positive impact on student achievement. And especially with challenging subjects such as science or mathematics, it becomes even more crucial that parents support STEM learning. Engaging with your kids in meaningful STEM experiences might just give them that extra motivation to explore the world and become lifelong learners. It might also help them do great in school 😉

3. Home is meant to be a Safe Space

Away from the pressure of school systems and evaluations. Research and many educational theories support the idea that mistakes are great teachers and part of the learning process. However, with schools heavily relying on testing and grades, mistakes can sometimes become a sign of failure and cause stress. This creates a negative impact on the learning experience.

At home, you can allow children the chance to experiment without being evaluated or being judged by teachers or peers. We learn from our mistakes and in STEM this is oh so much more relevant! In the real world, you don’t solve problems on the first try; you try, fail, learn, try again and so on and so forth. You might even find something you weren’t even looking for. Some of the world’s greatest discoveries were “mistakes”. So coming back, home is a safe space to let your child learn that mistakes are ok and part of the joy of learning.

4. Home allows for Positive Emotional Connections

Research in neuroscience has shown that there is a direct link between emotion and cognition. This means that whenever we learn something we associate it with a particular emotional state and the sensations that this generates. If there are positive sensations associated to learning something, we are more motivated and it is more likely that we will continue learning. A loving home with caring parents is a safe space, so it is easier to create positive emotional connections to STEM. Through non-academic experiences, children are able to connect STEM to something fun, that nurtures their curiosity and their thirst for knowledge. And it is always a plus to feel happy and motivated about what you are learning and not frustrated isn’t it?

5. Home provides a Perfect Space for really Experiencing STEM

STEM education is about connecting the knowledge from these separate subjects and bringing them together to create or solve anything. And what better way is there to learn than a hands-on approach? I bet many of you are familiar with the oriental phrase (and it’s numerous variations):

“I hear, I know. I see, I remember. I do, I understand”

The brain learns through associations and when it is actively involved in the learning process it is more effective. It is so important for your child’s learning, to learn through experiences. To connect what they are learning to the real world. To involve their senses!

However, STEM is a huge topic and schools need to follow the curriculum. Chances are that lack of time and resources force teachers to skip great chances at experiential, hands-on learning. But you can do this at home and provide teachable STEM moments through active and hands-on experiences. These experiences will allow your child’s brain to make the necessary associations for more effective learning.

Bonus Reason! STEM is Fun For Parents too!

All in all, supporting STEM learning at home has many benefits. But let’s face it, you also want to have fun with your kids. And that’s what’s so great about STEM activities, they actually are quite fun to do as a family! You get to connect with your children, explore and learn together and spend some quality family time. So check out some of the activity posts in this blog and turn your home into a STEMful space!