By Noah Moster
We’ve all been in that summer mood before, staring out the window of the chilly classroom, daydreaming about what we could do in the great summer beyond if only that darn bell would ring to let us home. What better way to wake students and teachers from that stupor than to host an engaging outdoor activity to mix nature and education collaboratively for the students? Here are three activities perfect for a summer STEM trip away from the classroom from three websites that encourage a slew of other options, should your students need more than just these ideas to pique their curiosity!
1. We Are Teachers
Link to the Website: https://www.weareteachers.com/outdoor-science/
Bubbles are not the weirdest fascination humans have ever had, but they’re certainly one of the coolest. These asymmetrical oil-slick-looking globs are a phenomenal visual aid for demonstrating the cool inventions mankind has managed to obtain, and best yet, they’re so easy that a middle schooler can make one.
On the We Are Teachers website, this is one of the projects they cover (specifically #4 on the entry list, if you’re curious), and it’s by no means the only choice when considering potential assignments for a nice warm day outside. What makes the Bubble experiment stand out is the recipe’s simplicity: students only need dish soap, sugar, water, and a bubble wand for the floating spheres to transition from blueprint to reality.
2. Science Demo Guy
Link to the Website: https://sciencedemoguy.com/10-awesome-stem-projects-perfect-for-middle-school/
Meanwhile, on the Science Demo Guy website, the focus shifts from a chemical approach to an engineering fixation. Magnetic soda can races and levitating ping pong balls display prominence. Still, my favorite is the Marshmallow Catapult shown, composed in all its multicolored glory. The ingenuity here is in the lack of an inhibitor most types of projects in this vein cannot overcome, and that is the friendly fire potential. Most inventions that launch projectiles advise strongly against firing said ammunition against living organics, as fighting is something only grown-ups are supposed to mess up the world with. Still, this contraption shines where those like it have failed: Why not shoot them at each other? See if you can catch the marshmallow in your mouth.
A disclaimer for this one: some of the resources aren’t free. However, the cost is relatively low. (the catapult one was $3 for a PDF, instructions, and an example video)
3. Science Buddies
Link to the Website: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/subjects/middle-school
Finally, we come to the Science Buddies website. This one has been shown before in a previous blog, but it’s such a good resource that it deserves a mention again. There is no bias, partly because it contains a “Make Ice Cream in a Bag” project.
Of course not.
Seriously though, this website contains a lot of fun construction- and formula-based activities alike that would entertain many a middle-school populace, from your typical paper rockets to crafting an alka-seltzer power lava lamp to making a solar oven to cook various light meals. While those ideas are edutaining to explore, the Ice Cream project marries the learning process with a satisfying snack ideal for the summer heat. Few alternatives can beat that seasonally perfect combination.
Summer is an excellent time to explore nature at the peak of its flourish. It also, of course, signals the near the end of the average school year and thus gains the connotation of the “fun” season, where one rests from their educational burdens and treats their body instead of their mind in sports, beach days, camping trips, and other enjoyable balmy-day activities. It deserves that connotation; it can be fun, but “fun” and “education” don’t necessarily have to exist independently. And more than anything else, it’s this lesson that the students need to pick up through all the bubbles, catapults, ice cream, and science: learning can be fun. As long as they know that, they’ll become the best teachers in the world. Because nobody teaches you as well as you teach yourself.
Do you want more resources on the topic of Outdoor STEM Activities? NSTEM’s vast resources database provides thousands of searchable STEM resources by category, school level, and state. This comprehensive library includes info on enrichment activities, curricula, internships, scholarships, and more. Check out a free sampling here. Or get an NSTEM membership today to unlock the complete list.
Middle School is where students are transformed, entering as children and emerging as young adults. Project-based learning enrichment helps students connect the dots between STEM and real life, making math and science relevant for them, and keeping them engaged and interested. With a meaningful middle school experience, students are far more likely to focus on STEM disciplines in high school and beyond. To start your 6-8 middle school chapter of the National STEM Honor Society, click here.
