Here at Kool Kat Science, we’ve written many STEM lessons that included requirements to test and measure various forces. To help students think like engineers, we had them build homemade tools to make the measurements. These were often just ad hoc platforms made with two …
Our STEM club’s mechanical puppet project was filled with interesting challenges. I addressed one in a previous blog: building a working jaw using a lever structure. In this article I will discuss the lessons learned while building movable eyes. The design challenge for the Movable …
Recently, our STEM club did a four session electricity unit. We challenged the kids to design and build a battery powered toy that either moved or had lights and sound. Without exception, each team chose to build a toy that used a motor for movement. …
This year, as Dave and I contemplated destinations for planning our 2019-2020 STEM season, we decided to get our passports renewed and head north to Canada. Our destination was Stratford, Ontario. This turned out to be a fabulous location for a STEM planning getaway! The …
Electricity is such a fun unit for grades 3, 4, and 5. The idea for this STEM challenge came to us during our working vacation in the sweet little town of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. We spent some of our brainstorming sessions in a coffee shop …
Our STEM Club is in full swing for the Fall of 2019. This semester started with a unit on electricity to support 4th-grade NGSS physical science standards (PS3-2; PS3-3; PS3-4). We began by having the teams create a simple closed circuit with a 1.5v D-cell …
Corrugated cardboard is an inexpensive, plentiful material with great structural properties that make it perfect for many classroom construction projects. This post outlines a few techniques we have discovered while working. Cutting Cardboard Method 1: Using scissors for thin cardboard works best. It is safe …
In 2016, the Kool Kat writing team attended the wonderful 5th annual STEM Forum & Expo in Colorado hosted by the National Science Teachers Association. We use the STEM Forum to learn from other educators and gather fresh ideas for our writing. We pored over …
In September 2018 we started a science club. Our church, Cedar Creek, has a ministry that encourages small groups where people with a common interest gather together for fellowship and encouragement. These groups are generally for adults or high-school students. A few groups offered child …
While planning the puppet unit, the Kool Katz dreamers determined that teams would need a mechanism to hold the puppet upright while under construction. For this purpose, Dave developed a versatile piece of equipment we named the Gizmo Rig. The rig has been modified several …
