The massive hive mind of science educators has populated the Internet with countless STEM activities. With Earth Day less than three weeks away, we decided to curate 101 of the best STEM activities, ideas and resources across the web in this new downloadable white paper.
Incorporating STEM Activities For Earth Day
Probably the best thing about science class is that, more than any other subject, there’s room to have fun. Getting students to be curious about the world around them is a hugely important endeavor, and a creative one. There are so many different ways to incorporate Earth Day into science lessons. With 101 STEM resources in addition to our 6 free online Earth Day games and 3 Earth Day resources, there are no excuses. Now you can make Earth Day a great teaching moment.
At Legends of Learning, we love the idea of piquing students’ interest with video games. But that’s just one piece of the puzzle in teachers’ lesson plans. Sometimes you’ve got to get your hands dirty. While you’re teaching for Earth Day, and any other lessons coming up on the agenda, hopefully some of these activities will turn into lasting science memories.
Top Ten Favorite Activities
Here are ten of our personal favorite STEM activities from the 101 STEM Activities and Resources. We hope you’ll find some of them especially relevant to Earth Day. You can check out the other 91 here!
- 12. How to Make a GAK Glacier – Science at Sea – Investigation
Bring together the good old combo of borax and glue and observe how it flows and breaks. Turns out, it behaves much the same way as a glacier, so you can teach students about Earth’s ever-changing ice masses. - 17. Pitch Switcher! – Experiment
Build a simple string instrument to examine the relationship between vibration and pitch. - 29. Greenhouse in a Beaker – Experiment
Examine the relationship between Carbon Dioxide and thermal energy. Consider how this affects Earth’s atmosphere with the emissions of greenhouse gases. - 36. Shoebox Geologist – Simulation (Hands-on)
This activity from the National Park Service helps your students study the geologic time scale right inside a shoebox! - 43. Extract DNA from Spinach! – Investigation
Exactly what it sounds like. Get a close look at the genetic material of spinach, no microscope necessary! - 63. Make Ice Cream in a Baggie! – Creation
A delicious way to explore states of matter and freezing points. One of the sweetest STEM activities around! - 80. Triboluminescence Experiment – Investigation
Use wintergreen candy to generate electricity inside your mouth and find out how friction can generate light with certain substances. - 86. Water Filtration Challenge – Experiment
Build and test handmade water filtration systems with this guide from the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab! - 89. Wind Turbine – Creation
Generate actual electricity with your own wind turbine! Then, talk about clean energy sources and
what they mean for the future. - 98. Cultivating Habitat – Investigation
Head outside to your school garden and learn about biodiversity with this guided activity from the Smithsonian Gardens.
Reach Out To Legends of Learning Today!
Do you have a favorite science activity that didn’t make the list? Let us know!
See our Earth Day Activities and Ideas page for free games, additional resources and lesson plans!
