Some of the greatest opportunities to learn happen when we share our knowledge and budding interests with others. Sharing is caring, after all—and STEM is no exception. Science, technology, math, and engineering become greater than facts and concepts when students can discuss their learning with parents, show off their creativity to friends, and lead their siblings through a how-to of engineering-design processes. These moments are powerful tools for connection and confidence building, and Pitsco’s hands-on solutions make it even easier to bring these moments to your school.
STEM Activities That Fuel Invention
We educators know how powerful family STEM nights can be. How many of us attended school science fairs when we were kids, marveling at the brightly-colored poster boards and baking soda volcanoes, inspired to invent something of our own that we could show off to family and friends.
Pitsco’s Inventions Pack gives that opportunity to students across grade levels, packaging the spirit of imagination into a box that’s bursting with possibility; it’s just waiting to be opened. Inside is a mix of all kinds of materials—balloons, glue, wheels, rubber bands, straw, basswood, dowel rods, and more—that encourage kids to take big ideas and make them tangible. Not every child has already thought up an experiment to show off, but that doesn’t mean they don’t dream of getting involved in the action. This pack is perfect for the kids who have a heart and head for ambition, but simply don’t know where to start.
Engineer Life-Long Passion and Real-World Skills
When resources are easy to use and allow kids to feel like leaders, even more technical projects become family STEM night favorites. In Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas, for example, K–8 STEM Coordinator, Amanda Quick noted how middle schoolers were taking their siblings step-by-step in engineering the Echo Drone. Excitement replaced shyness as kids became teachers, communicating assembly instructions to their siblings and helping them think critically about building their own, flyable drone. Because it isn’t every day that students get the opportunity to work with such technical parts, the middle schoolers became cool role models to their younger siblings—who went home invigorated, eager to be middle schoolers so they could be part of the STEM program too.
Even if you’re working with more limited space, there are plenty of other fun solutions that let families explore STEM while putting their problem-solving skills to the test. You can even model your STEM night after TSA competitions, where each teacher’s room explores a different hands-on challenge connected to engineering, physics, and beyond. In one classroom, our CO2 Dragster might be the center of the show, inviting families to collaborate—and go head-to-head—as they design and race their own dragster. In the room next door, robotics might be the headlining theme, with kids and parents manipulating TETRIX® parts into technical masterpieces. Maybe another teacher makes a game out of lessons in energy and force. With access to a gymnasium, a teacher can use the Straw Rocket Launcher and have families make hypotheses about which launch heights and angles will propel the rocket the farthest. Working together, kids and adults can imagine broader possibilities of STEM—and create memorable experiences that they’ll want to have over and over again.
Easy-to-Plan STEM for Artistic-Minded Students
The most successful family STEM nights don’t build excitement for STEM around a single night. Instead, that night gives students and their families a glimpse into the cross-curricular, collaborative nature of real-world STEM—and includes activities that students can continue exploring in their everyday classrooms. Our STEM Explorer Pack has not one such activity, but fifteen that enrich STEM skills like observation, analysis, problem-solving, and critical thinking through five truly creative, hands-on projects. From building their own catapults and bird feeders to designing mazes and musical instruments, students see how imagination and innovation connect in one convenient, curriculum-included resource.
Plan a Family STEM Night Kids Will Remember
Hands-on STEM experiences give students a chance to take ideas from imagination to reality, and Family STEM Night lets them do it alongside the people who inspire and support them most. With resources like Pitsco’s Inventions Pack and STEM Explorer Pack, TETRIX® Prime Programmable Robotics Set, CO2 Dragster, and Straw Rocket Launcher, schools can create opportunities for building, experimenting, and reflecting that spark creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. The real reward is that these activities don’t end when the night is over: students can continue exploring, designing, and problem-solving in their classrooms and at home, carrying the excitement of discovery into every day.
For more inspiration, check out our brochure, shop our site, and download our solutions’ free support materials.