STEM Workshop

Yesterday we had a successful STEM workshop with 9-13 year olds. We had 8 kids show up and participate in the workshop. We started the day with Dancing mothballs which we had fun watching bounce up and down in a liquid solution. After that we made thermometers with water, rubbing alcohol, and food coloring. Following the thermometers, we made drawbots. Our drawbots were made out of styrofoam cups, wire, a small motor, a push button, a battery pack, a penny, and washable markers. The children worked in pairs and designed their robots cup with different colors then we began attaching the motor, push button, battery pack, wires, and electrical tape in the correct places. We then attached markers around the base and used a white tablecloth and turned on all of our drawbots on at the same time and let them draw all over the tablecloth. It was awesome! Random items that we attached created a robot that could draw!
We took a break for lunch and watched some Bill Nye the Science Guy while we ate. Following lunch we made ice cream in a bag. This was a good dessert surprise after lunch!
After we cleaned up from the ice cream making we started our Bubbleology unit. We spent the rest of the afternoon testing soaps and bubble solutions to see which made the biggest bubbles. We had some children make some HUGE bubbles. We also had a competition to see who could create a device that would make the biggest bubbles. Everyone had fun, got covered in marker and bubbles!