28 Days of Hands-On STEM Activities for Kids

I can’t tell you how excited I am… February’s going to be BIG!! There are 28 days (plus an extra for leap year this year) pack-filled with hands-on STEM activities for kids.  I’ve partnered with some of my favorite bloggers and here’s a little math to show you just how BIG this is…  60 activities + 29 bloggers = an AHmazing month of hands-on science, tech, engineering & math for your kiddos at home and in the classroom. We’ve broken it down into four different hot topics: STEM Goes Green, STEM Challenges, Coding for Kids and STEM On a Budget.  So bookmark this page & come back each day to see the next project!

Why Hands-On STEM?

When kids get their hands on exciting projects, it can inspire them to learn. As I’m guessing you’ve heard before, the learning pyramid shows that people learn about 5% by hearing about something, 10% by reading about it, 30% by seeing a demonstration, but a whopping 75% by doing it for themselves. So each and every one of these 60 activities gives kids an opportunity to do science, technology, engineering and math in a way that helps them learn the skills they need in the 21st century.

STEM Goes Green

The first week of our Hands-On STEM series is all about the earth. Saving it with recycling, upcycling and more. And learning about nature and being inspired by what we find. So come back to check out wind science, small part play in nature, upcycled flower gardens and more.

February 1

• Recycled Plastic Flowers Art & Science Project || Left Brain Craft Brain
• Upcycled STEM – Take Apart Computers || Little Bins for Little Hands
• Wind Powered STEM Challenge – LEGO Rescue || STEAM Powered Family

February 2

• Outdoors STEM: Build a Bridge || Preschool Powol Packets
• Green STEM Challenge: Light from Lemons|| Planet Smarty Pants

February 3

• DIY Kid-Made Abacus || Handmade Kids Art
• Pocket Size Nature Collection || Edventures with Kids

February 4

• Loose Parts and Natural Materials with Toddlers || Bambini Travel
• Geology for Kids || Rhythms of Play

February 5

• Repurpose Dryer Lint for Gardening with Kids || Capri + 3
• Umbrella Counting & Color Sorting || Artsy Craftsy Mom
• Recycled DIY Can Telephones || Lemon Lime Adventures

February 6

• Easy Upcycled Catapult || Go Science Girls
• Pine Cone Multiplication Craft || Thriving STEM

February 7

• Trash Tower Building Challenge || Our Daily Craft

STEM Challenges

Life is a challenge, so let’s prepare our kids for it. But not in just any old way. Let’s teach them to think like engineers with these fun and engaging STEM challenges.

February 8

• Travel Playdough Engineering Kit || Lemon Lime Adventures
• LEGO Engineering Preschool Challenge || Preschool Powol Packets

February 9

• Conversation Heart Tower || Math Geek Mama
• DIY Electric Tinkering Kit || Planet Smarty Pants

February 10

• Magnetic Superhero Challenge || Handmade Kids Art
• How to Bend a Pencil Without Breaking It || Edventures with Kids
• Invitation to Build a Tower || Playground Parkbench

February 11

• Build a 3D Structure || Go Science Girls
• Build a Bedroom Model || Line Upon Line Learning

February 12

• Paper Bag STEM Challenges || Little Bins for Little Hands
• Make it Move! Challenge || STEAM Powered Family

February 13

• Mondrian Playdough Challenge || The Preschool Toolbox
• Bridge Building Challenge || Mama Smiles

February 14

• Hardware Store STEM Scavenger Hunt || Left Brain Craft Brain
• Simple Pendulum Experiment || JDaniel4’s Mom

Coding for Kids

Coding. It’s the language of the future. And all of our kids can learn it! So here are a bunch of fun ways to introduce it… There’s going to be stuff for little kids & big kids. Free coding stuff. Wearable codes. And MORE!

February 15

• How to Create a Virtual Journal with HTML || Go Science Girls
• Build an Algorithm on the Floor || JDaniel4’s Mom

February 16

• Coding a LEGO Maze || Research Parent
• Beyond the Code: Skills for Coders || STEAM Powered Family

February 17

• Birthday Binary Code || Handmade Kids Art
• Teaching Girls to Code || Planet Smarty Pants

February 18

• Screen Free Coding for Preschool & Kindergarten || Science Kiddo
• Superhero Coding Game || Little Bins for Little Hands

February 19

• Coding Quiet Book || Nerdy Mama

February 20

• Free Websites That Teach Coding for Kids || Preschool Powol Packets
• Fun Ways Kids Can Learn to Code || Mama Smiles

February 21

• Middle School Coding Projects for Beginners || Look! We’re Learning!

STEM On a Budget

The number one piece of feedback I hear about STEM activities is about cost. Everything’s too expensive! So we’ve put our creative energy to work finding you frugal ways to get as much fun and learning in as possible. Science, tech, engineering & math don’t have to break the bank!

February 22

• How to Make Plastic from Milk || STEAM Powered Family

February 23

• STEM Blocks Challenge || Whimsical Days
• 52 Free Science Projects for Kids || Planet Smarty Pants
• Growing Strawberries STEM Challenge || The Educators’ Spin On It

February 24

• Make a STE(A)M Cart in 5 Easy Steps || Handmade Kids Art
• Create a Backyard Science Lab for Less Than $10 || Edventures with Kids

February 25

• Inexpensive STEM Ideas || Little Bins for Little Hands
• 16 (Almost) Free Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids || The Science Kiddo
• 50 Creative Weather Activities || Artsy Momma Blog

February 26

• 10 Budget STEM Activities for Kids || Kid World Citizen

February 27

• STEM Activities with Household Items || Mama Smiles
• Playing with the Refraction of Light || Go Science Girls

February 28

• Simple Math Ideas with Q-tips || Math Geek Mama

February 29 – It’s Leap Year Y’all!!

• Chromatography Butterflies || Kidz Activities
• States of Matter || Kelly’s Classroom

 

Looking for some more STEAM inspiration that you can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Explorers!! The coolest creative experience for kids is here! It's a digital book of the month club filled with tons of fun stuff for the kids to do and learn. All engineer, teacher, and mom-approved. And most definitely KID APPROVED!⁣

What’s included?⁣

• A monthly digital magazine with cool themes that are fun to read
• Hands-on, exciting projects the kids will love.⁣
• Science, tech, engineering, art, and math learning YOU’LL love.⁣
• Delicious recipes the kids can make.⁣
• Fun printables and games⁣

Get ready to have fun with hands-on STEAM that’s a feast for all your senses! The kids will love trying food that tickles their taste buds, making art with texture, fooling their eyes with optical illusions, sewing soft stuffies that glow, and so much more!

We’ve split the issue into four weekly themes:

• WEEK 1: SEE STEAM
• WEEK 2: SMELL STEAM
• WEEK 3: FEEL STEAM
• WEEK 4: HEAR STEAM
• PLUS... TASTE STEAM ALL MONTH LONG!

Follow Along with 28 Days of Hands-On STEM

Want to stay up to date on all the cool projects? I’ll be sharing them daily on the Left Brain Craft Brain Facebook page and pinning them to my Pinterest STEM board.