Playful Building There are 7 items.
These engineering activities were crafted by the STAR Net Team specifically for use in libraries.
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Design A Park
2 Review(s)Participants are invited to imagine the park of their dreams! In small groups, they place movable pieces on a grid, iterating on their plan together to create a plan for a community park. 7066
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How-to Video Implementation Guide Provides extensive background information, facilitation outline, materials shopping list, extended supporting media suggestions, correlations to national standards, and more. Teacher's Guide Provides classroom connections, key concepts, connections to science standards, and additional resources. -
Team Machine
1 Review(s)This classic “icebreaker” activity challenges participants to create a simple human machine. A group of at least 6 and up to 20 people work together to pass a beanbag in a set pattern as quickly as possible. 2284
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How-to Video Implementation Guide Provides extensive background information, facilitation outline, materials shopping list, extended supporting media suggestions, correlations to national standards, and more. Teacher's Guide Provides classroom connections, key concepts, connections to science standards, and additional resources. -
Water Wedges
Participants consider how a simple machine, a wedge, can be used to push materials apart — and apply the concept to creating a model boat. 0
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How-to Video Implementation Guide Provides extensive background information, facilitation outline, materials shopping list, extended supporting media suggestions, correlations to national standards, and more. Teacher's Guide Provides classroom connections, key concepts, connections to science standards, and additional resources. -
Levers at Play
2 Review(s)Participants consider how a simple machine, a lever, turns a small push or pull (a small force) into a larger — or stronger — push or pull (a larger force) — and apply the concept to designing a model seesaw. 5712
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How-to Video Implementation Guide Provides extensive background information, facilitation outline, materials shopping list, extended supporting media suggestions, correlations to national standards, and more. Teacher's Guide Provides classroom connections, key concepts, connections to science standards, and additional resources. -
Low-Tech Water Filter for High-Impact Clean
Participants consider the water features they might enjoy at a community park — a pond, brook, water playground (or “sprayground”), or pool, — and what happens to thewater over time. 0
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How-to Video Implementation Guide Provides extensive background information, facilitation outline, materials shopping list, extended supporting media suggestions, correlations to national standards, and more. Teacher's Guide Provides classroom connections, key concepts, connections to science standards, and additional resources. -
Wind Turbine Tech Challenge
1 Review(s)Participants consider what they know about how wind turbines work and how wind energy could be used to provide electricity to a community park. 2677
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How-to Video Implementation Guide Provides extensive background information, facilitation outline, materials shopping list, extended supporting media suggestions, correlations to national standards, and more. Teacher's Guide Provides classroom connections, key concepts, connections to science standards, and additional resources. Family Take-home Activity A take-home that can be sent with patrons that wish to do STEM activities at home. These at-home activities cover similar topic areas as the associated activity and could be handed out at the conclusion of a program or left on a circulation desk for patrons to take home. -
Ice Cold Coolers
Build a cooler using different materials (coffee can/container, styrofoam, aluminum foil, etc) to keep ice cubes from melting on a hot day. Check the progress of the ice melting every five minutes to see how fast they melt 0
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