Happy Holidays from STEM Sports®! Thanksgiving has come and gone, meaning that we are now only a few short weeks away from this month’s holiday season. So with that in mind, we have some suggestions on what to give children and educators in your life… the gift of a fun and effective STEM education!
Below is a compiled list of great presents for children and teachers that will help improve STEM literacy and classroom efficiency, respectively,:
Children STEM gifts:
This gift is great to spark a child’s curiosity and spark an interest in science. For any age, this can be an entertaining, great way to spend time outside of school. It also gives a sense of familiarity with microscopes that will aid students in future success in science classes and possibly even medical-related career paths.
A subscription to Groovy Lab in a Box is the perfect gift that will continue long into the new year. Each box is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and promotes scientific inquiry and the engineering design process. The box contains all of the supplies necessary for children to conduct their science, technology or engineering lab for that month. This makes it fun for kids and easy for parents to implement at home!
With these kits, children can make 16 different safe-to-eat chemistry experiments. This box gives all of the necessary supplies to conduct the experiment making it easy and hassle free for parents. Additionally, it introduces children to complex chemistry topics in a fun way that kids will enjoy.
Robot Octopus:
The Robot Octopus is something that your child can build, introducing them to engineering. Once it is built, the robot has multiple modes and functions that are sure to capture any kids attention. Throughout the whole experience with the robot octopus, children will be immersed in science, technology, engineering and math. This disguised learning approach is a great way to get your child an educational gift without them even knowing!
Magnetic Human Body Anatomy Kit:
This magnetic human body anatomy kit is targeted for children 3 years old and above. The kit comes with a male and female body and 24 magnetic body part pieces. It allows kids to begin learning about the different parts of the human body using a trial and error approach. This can be used over and over again and is a great introduction to your child forming a passion in medicine. It’s like the old game Operation…only better!
ThinkFun created a STEM-centric roller coaster that makes children excited to learn. When building the roller coaster, children are pushed to think critically and problem solve. Once the roller coaster is built, there is a large variety of STEM challenge cards of all different difficulty levels.
Electro Machine Kits:
Kids create robots and cars during this STEM exercise. This teaches them about electricity and motion. Using dough and other supplies provided in the kit, your child can make circuits and eventually create movement in the things they made. This is a great way to spark a passion in STEM with a fun approach.
Sphero Mini is a fully mobile robot your child gets to program! It can move, has games and teaches children more about coding. With the Sphero Mini you also get access to a phone application that aids children in the creative process of using all of the different features of the robot. Sphero also offers other robots of different complexities, making it possible for you to get a robot to match any STEM skillset or interest.
A rubix cube holds a variety of educational benefits in its little box. Children can see improvements in memory, reflexes and problem solving skills! If you buy this for your child, you will be putting them in a position to excel academically moving forward and give them the tools to improve real-life skills that are useful in the workplace.
Teacher STEM gifts:
The DataBot is a small cube that holds exponential opportunities for STEM growth and fun. It has the ability to measure motion, altitude, code and other concepts great for a classroom environment. This is the perfect gift for any teacher because its wide range of capabilities will allow them to implement it in a variety of different lessons with their students.
K’NEX Amusement Park Experience Camp:
Targeted at fifth grade to ninth grade students, the K’NEX Amusement Park Experience Camp allows students to expand their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math using the different rides and structures provided. They have the opportunity to combine their knowledge of STEM with real world application and problem solving skills. Each kit can support up to 24 students at a time and can be reused, making it a sound investment and a great addition to any teachers classroom supplies.
LittleBits Workshop Set:
With this workshop set, students can turn into inventors! With the help of LittleBits, teachers can promote creativity, inventiveness and problem solving skills amongst their students. This set allows students to independently work through the engineering process to create inventions the size and complexity that they choose. By giving this freedom, each child is able to work through the activity independently and expand their knowledge of STEM through hands-on experience.
Make an Ocean:
This kit is perfect to teach children about a serious issue the world is facing today – global warming and pollution. This experiment walks students through making four different ocean scenarios and lets them analyze the impact of the different variables on ocean life and water quality. This real world application of STEM topics allows students to develop a deeper understanding of the topic and see a possible job they could hold in the future.
The Neo Smartpen allows you to hand handwriting to be digitized and stored in the NeoNote application. This makes storing written information so it can be recalled or reused at a later date. Plus, the ink and paper are sold separately so the pen can continue to be used long term. This is a perfect fit for any teacher or teacher’s assistant this holiday season!
*SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT*
STEM Sports® currently offers a STEM Basketball, STEM Football, STEM Soccer, STEM Volleyball and STEM Multi-Sport kit, and will be adding more in the near future. Each kit comes equipped with all of the sports equipment and science supplies needed to conduct the lessons and offers pre-and-post assessments to track student improvement. This hands-on curriculum caters to every type of student and promotes learning through doing rather than seeing.
With these gifts, kids can avoid the slump that can often happen during prolonged breaks from school. Since all of these experiments and activities are fun in nature, your kid can continue furthering their STEM literacy while also having fun! For teachers, these gifts would be a perfect addition to their classrooms to start the New Year. It will help the teacher with bringing quality science, technology, engineering and math curriculum into the classroom, and will help to give the workforce of the future the STEM education they need to succeed in this constantly changing world.
Happy Holidays & happy shopping!
