Create ‘Magical’ Rainbow Flowers Flowers are a beautiful sight to behold. They add a splash of colour to any landscape, and their aroma can be intoxicating. There is something about flowers that makes people happy, and it is no wonder that they are often used at weddings and other celebrations as a symbol of joy….
The history of ‘the brick’ There are two memories many people are unlikely to forget. The first is the joy you felt as a child when playing with LEGO. The second is the pain you felt, as an adult, when you first stepped, barefoot, on a stray LEGO brick. But what is the history of…
It’s cool to be a nerd! Over time, the definition of words can change. What used to be a slight, is now a badge of intelligence and entry into the cool club. The term ‘nerd’ was first coined in the 1950s. It is a portmanteau of the words ‘nerdy’ and ‘dorky’, and it was originally…
Getting excited about vegetables: STEM Activities Eating unhealthy foods can have a negative impact on your brain as well as lead to problems such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We know that a healthy diet is important for overall health. But what you may not know is that a balanced diet is essential for…
Planning hard to teach easy in STEM in primary schools Guest post, written by Dr. Jane Hunter The phrase planning hard to teach easy was an expression I first heard my doctoral supervisors use in their classroom research in schools more than a decade ago. The more I understand teaching practice and deep thoughtful learning…
Making Maths Fun Maths can be a difficult subject for some kids to enjoy, but with the right explanation, it can be fun and engaging. When maths is taught in a way that makes sense to kids, they’re more likely to excel in the subject. Fun in the classroom & online One teacher who’s become…
Curiosity – A Skill for Life It’s a well-known fact that kids are born curious. They come into this world with an innate desire to learn and to understand their surroundings. What is curiosity and why is it important? When most people think of curiosity, they think of a child who is constantly asking “why”….
Should you support your child’s dreams of becoming a Youtube influencer? It’s no secret that many kids aspire to be YouTube influencers when they grow up. According to a The LEGO Group, who surveyed 3,000 children, kids were three times more likely to state they wanted to be on YouTube than be an astronaut! It…
The Boat & The Beetle STEM Activity When it comes to the world of children, questioning is a natural phenomenon. This is especially true when it comes to the WHY questions. In fact, children typically ask an average of four WHY questions per day. While this can be a bit exasperating for parents at times,…
The History of Shoes STEM Activity In the 90s, when it came to sources of inspiration for styling your wardrobe, Carrie Bradshaw could be considered second to none. But today, stroll down the street, or attend a kid’s birthday party, and you’ll soon observe who the real leaders of style are. Shoes. Handbags. Jewelled rings….
Teaching Maths Using Stop-Motion Animation + LEGO® Written by Dr Emily Cook Let’s play a game of word association. If I say “maths” what are the first three words you think of? I’m going to hazard a guess that most of you didn’t pick anything like “fun” or “creative”. As a scientist who uses maths…
Look Up! Stargazing Activity We spend a lot of hours looking down at our screens. According to the Australian Government, Australian Institute of Family Studies, our heads are titled towards screens far in excess of national guidelines. For children aged less than two years, the recommended daily screen time is zero hours. For children aged…
Build a Cubby House On The Moon: STEM Activity Kids often make secret forts and cubby houses by using furniture, sheets, and other household items to create a makeshift wall. As an adult, it’s a privilege to be invited in – with the secret password of course – and an opportunity to experience the world…
More STEM Stories for you and your child to read together Australia (and the world!) currently has a problem with attracting girls into STEM and keeping women in STEM careers once they get there. While there are many factors at play that explain these challenges, one of the contributing factors is the visibility of role…
STEM Stories for you and your child It’s no secret that reading is good for you. Research has shown that there are a number of benefits to reading to your child, including teaching them language skills, increasing vocabulary and improving attention span. When children are read to, they are opening up a whole new world…
5 Easy Ways To Turn Your Home Into a STEM Laboratory As a parent, you want to give your children every opportunity to succeed. You may not have the time or resources to take them to expensive STEM laboratories, but there are many ways that you can turn your home into a STEM laboratory. With…
What do we mean when we say ‘STEM’? The Primary + STEM team recently wrote a report on STEM in primary schools, including best practice implementation, innovation, and identified gaps in Victorian classrooms. The report was developed for The Invergowrie Foundation by Therese Keane, Tanya Linden and Suzanne Snead from Swinburne University of Technology and…
Introducing kids to coding: why & how It’s never too early to encourage kids to start thinking about a career in coding. According to ScratchJR, a website where kids can learn to code, Coding is the new literacy! Coding is a great way for kids to develop problem-solving skills and learn how to think creatively….
10 Ways To Get Kids Interested in Origami Origami is a traditional Japanese art form involving paper folding. Origami is perfect for people of all ages because there are lots of different projects you can make and every project has different levels of difficulty. Whether you’re an adult or a child, origami will be something…
Why the arts are important for STEM education You’re probably familiar with the term ‘STEM’ – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But have you heard of STEAM? STEAM is a newer acronym that includes the arts into STEM. The Arts include humanities, social sciences, language, arts, drama and visual arts and design. The term STEAM,…
Can you crack the code? STEM Activity Who doesn’t love a good secret? Whether it’s an inside joke with your best friend or the latest trend in texting, we all seem to find joy in hiding our words from others. But what about those people who use secrets and codes for more than just fun…
Explainer: What Is ‘The Leaky Pipeline’? Despite making up half of the population, women are still significantly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. Interestingly, this isn’t the case at all points along the career trajectory. While girls might start out along STEM pathways, along each step of the STEM career journey, we…
Make a bionic hand from everyday materials Hands are important because they are a primary means of interacting with the world around us. They allow us to perform a wide range of tasks, from writing to cooking to playing sports. In addition, hands are essential for communication, as they allow us to gesture and express…
Create an ‘Air Bee n Bee’: STEM Activity If you want to know if the world is in trouble, just look at the bees. Bees are disappearing from their hives around the world, and scientists say they don’t know why. They call it ‘Colony Collapse Disorder.’ And because bees pollinate so many plants that provide…
Engineering Solutions for Air Pollution: STEM Activity Air pollution is a major problem facing our world today. In Australia, air pollution is the third-largest contributor to climate change in the country. It comes from many different sources, including cars, factories, and power plants. It can cause a lot of health problems, including asthma, cancer, and…
Minecraft – Gaming for education Minecraft. It’s all the rage. From the outside, it might look like just another screen-attention-grabbing computer game. But there’s more to Minecraft than that… The game is heralded as developing skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and collaborative processes. According to Engineering for Kids, in 2020, around 131 million people logged…
NASA Parachute Activity – Will Your Egg Go ‘Splat’? If you attended primary school in Australia, it’s quite possible that your teacher ran a science activity for your class that involved designing a container that would (in theory) protect an egg when you dropped it from a height. The trend lives on for today’s students,…
Biospheres are the new Pot Plants! STEM Activity The enthusiasm for potted plants populating the floor spaces of our houses has, in recent years, been increasing at a rapid rate. The trend has been embraced in large part by millennials. Some report having hundreds of pot plants inside their house! One reason for the rise…
STEM Activity: Turn Milk into Plastic! The Primary + STEM team welcome you to a series we’ve created where we try out STEM-related activities that have been designed by STEM experts and report back to you about how they worked in real life. You can find lots of STEM activities on the STEM Teaching Resources…
20 activity sheets to bring STEM Learning into your home Stuck for ideas for how to provide entertainment at home while also providing an educational experience? The community at STEM Ed Magazine have created 20 activity sheets that are designed for educators and families and are free to use in the classroom or in the…
Explainer: Why are positive STEM role models important? Can you remember back to when you were young? Really young. To that time in your life when people would ask you the question ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ Your ability to answer the question, and the scope of the answer you…
Report: Engaging Primary Girls in STEM A report has been released examining best practice implementation, innovations and gaps in Victorian classrooms. The report was developed for The Invergowrie Foundation by Therese Keane, Tanya Linden and Suzanne Snead from Swinburne University of Technology and University of Melbourne. Download your copy of the report here. In the…
