This week's ASD-N STEAM challenge is a yummy one and I can't wait to see your food creations.  Click on the link below to view the challenge. 

This week's STEAM challenge has you exploring the outdoor habitats of the creatures that live around your yard. Be sure grab a pencil,  a piece of paper and even a magnifying glass, if you have one.  Please click the link to read more about this week's ASD-N STEAM challenge.  

 Sand Volcano Experiment

Now that all our snow is gone, it’s time to dig in some dirt or sand and make a volcano!

How to Make a Sand Volcano

Materials

·       Sand

·       A Sand Bucket or cup

·       Baking soda

·       Vinegar

Optional: food coloring

Method

Begin by placing a sand bucket in the sand right-side-up.

Then, pack sand up and around the bucket to form the shape of a volcano.  A bucket or even a pop bottle makes the perfect volcano core.   You can fill the bucket or bottle halfway with sand so that it would take less baking soda and vinegar to make the volcano fully erupt. 

Making Your Volcano Erupt

Add 1-2 cups of baking soda to the volcano, pour in the desired amount of vinegar, and then .......watch the magic happen. You can continue to add vinegar and baking powder.

To find out more about volcano and why they erupt, check out this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAmqsMQG3RM

Math Link:  If you do the experiment several times, keep track of how many ml of vinegar you use each time.  Total the ml up when you complete the experiment.

Literacy Link:  Research and list 3 countries that currently have an active volcano.  Write three sentences about each volcano.

Art Link: Draw each step of your experiment.

Take a peek at some cool Challenges offered by our ASD-N STEAM Team.  

Now that Spring has sprung, I bet you’ve noticed a lot of birds that are visiting your backyard.  Birds like the Black-Capped Chickadee, Magpie or a Robin.  You may have even heard a flock of geese flying overhead.

So, KSE students….our next STEAM project will develop your creative and investigative thinking.  Mother Nature will give you most of the material that you will need. 

You will build a birds nest using all natural materials, just like birds do….NO TAPE OR GLUE.                                                                                     

To begin, you will want to collect a variety of material in your backyard, such as twigs, moss, feathers, even string, yarn or dog hair.  Once you have your materials, you have to make a strong nest that can withstand rain, wind and maybe even hail.  There is no right or wrong way to do this and this is where your creativity will come in handy. Good luck Spring Peepers!!

Keep these questions in mind when you are making your nest.

1.              Is my nest strong enough for a mother and/or baby birds?

2.              Will my birds nest stay together in a wind? (You can test it with a hairdryer.)

3.              How deep does your nest need to be to keep the eggs safe?

4.              Will it be comfortable for birds?

5.              Will it fall apart in rain (test it)?

6.              Will water collect inside or drain away? (You can test it with a glass of water outside).

Math Extension: How many eggs (marbles or cotton balls) can your nest hold? Estimate first J What is the perimeter of your nest.?

Language Arts Extension:  Write (or draw) the steps needed to make your nest. Don’t forget to use lot of adjectives and transition words such as First, Next, Then, After that, Finally.

Art Extension:  How to draw a bird. https://mocomi.com/how-to-draw-a-bird/

We would love to see your bird’s nest!  Message them to our King Street face Book page and we will post them.  Happy building!

Supplementary Resources for Home Learning

 K-2

For K-2, we would suggest keeping the focus on observation, inquiry and curiosity. There are many simple and fun activities that encourage kids to observe, explore and ask questions. Encourage them to use all of their senses (safely) to make observations.  When they have made observations, encourage them to ask questions about their observations. Journaling is also a very important part of investigating in Science and STEAM. Please encourage students to keep a journal each week of their investigations.  Here is a site to help get started: K-5: Be a Field Scientist!

Resources:

• Observation activities

• Science A-Z: 

• https://www.sciencea-z.com/main/domain/life-science/domainId/1
• https://www.sciencea-z.com/main/domain/earth-space-science/domainId/2
• https://www.sciencea-z.com/main/domain/physical-science/domainId/3
• https://www.sciencea-z.com/main/domain/process-science/domainId/4

• Demonstration / Making - Home Science/STEAM activity ideas:

• NASA STEM Engagement: https://www.nasa.gov/stem-at-home-for-students-k-4.html
• dailySTEM: 

http://dailystem.com/resources/

·        Curiosity & The Hungry Mind:

http://mystemclassroom.com/

• Video Resources:

• The Spangler Effect and Sick Science (Steve Spangler)

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpanglerEffect

https://www.youtube.com/user/SteveSpanglerScience

·        BrainPOP Jr.- Free access Science https://jr.brainpop.com/science/