Maker Madness

This summer, Zoe and I were thrilled to present three workshops at the Lincoln Children’s Museum. These workshops built on our Universal Design for Learning with embedded academic language by challenging participants to think, act, and talk like scientists and engineers.

First, during the Abracadabra camp, participants got to learn about the science behind bubbles and slime. We all got our hands dirty using household materials to make different kinds of bubbles (some were even edible!) and Kool-Aid colored and scented slime. You can check out our simple lesson plan here.

In these pictures, Brandy leads campers in making slime out of Metamucil, Kool-Aid, and water!

Who knew bubbles were serious—ly fun science? 🙂 Zoe leads campers in exploring different ways to make bubbles.

Next, we all became electrical engineers (and chefs :-)) for a day as we created Squishy Circuits dough, learning about the difference between conducting and insulating. The kids then turned the dough into awesome light up creations. Our simple lesson plan is here.

Finally, we wrapped up with an oldie-but-a-goody, a making workshop using recyclables, tape, and glue to create Moon Buggies. The younger kids followed the directions step-by-step, while the older kids used their imaginations and knowledge of cars to develop their own creations. You can check out the lesson plan for the younger kids here and modify it as needed for more autonomy for older kids. Special shout-out to our helpers!

Just look at how much fun we had making Moon Buggies!

We’re looking forward to the fall when we will be making our Mad Scientist/Engineer Hour concept a monthly thing at the Lincoln Children’s Museum. Come join us!

Reduce, Reimagine, Relaunch: Prototyping with Recyclables

Just before New Years, Brandy and I participated in our second program with the Lincoln Children’s Museum (LCM). This lesson was part of the Full STEAM Ahead program run by the LCM. As part of a 3 day camp, kids engaged in various STEAM related activities, classes, and exhibits.

Our lesson was modified from the HS Prototyping with Rockets lesson developed as part of our Science Literacy curriculum. The challenge was creating an experience for the kids that was simple enough for them to grasp, but challenging enough for them to learn. Prototyping is an abstract concept, challenging for my undergrads to readily grasp. Finding a way to explain the concept to kids with the average age being 8 pushed me to think in new ways. I kept thinking about it in terms of creating, teamwork and imagination. All of those are concepts easier to explain to kids.

Working in groups, kids collected recyclable materials to create their rockets. Working in groups gave them the opportunity to collaborate, to combine their ideas in order to come to the best possible solution. Of course, some kids were more resistant than others to group work, some wanting to make their own rockets. The thought behind the recyclables was to also expose kids to the idea of reusable materials, showing them how to reuse everyday household items for creative purposes. For educators, the recyclables are a way to keep the cost of the activity to a minimum, and allow students to be active in the cultivation of materials for the lesson.

Several of the rockets were imaginative, and some struggled through the teamwork aspect of working in a group – and often, their rockets reflected this. Overall, the kids had a great time and were exposed to new vocabulary, many using the word prototyping correctly and being able to describe what the process entailed.

Cukuoo for Edible Clocks

Days after Thanksgiving 2015, Zoe and I came to the Lincoln Children’s Museum to present our first collaborative workshop—and to learn more about the population the museum serves. The museum has been undergoing extensive renovations, including the introduction of a multi-story functional build-it-yourself cuckoo clock. This led us to develop a lesson that was designed to complement the day’s focus on clocks and building—and being just plain fun. We invited participants to build their own clock faces, out of food. Supplying graham crackers, frosting, fruit, and candy, the children designed their own clock faces that displayed their favorite times of the day. This lesson engaged participants in practice with directional vocabulary, color lexemes, and process-orientated thinking, while supporting the Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines. The workshop was so much fun and we look forward to future opportunities to work with the museum and with the Lincoln community.