By Noah Moster
Last week’s blog post focused on ways to avoid the heat of the summer with fun and entertaining STEM projects that students could do indoors as a nice escape from the heat. But do you know what the problem is with indoor science projects? They’re indoors, of course! Summer is all about being outside, and if you spend all your time locked inside, then what’s the point of warm weather?
But then again, the blazing sun can get pretty hot. So what can a student do to enjoy the fresh air without cooking their brain to be well done in the process? The answer’s clear: H2O is the way to go!
Here are three aquatic endeavors an aspiring STEM scientist can utilize to do cool activities while being cool themselves!
1. Tide Pool Math
Link to Activity: https://www.boem.gov/environment/tidepool-math
To start, let’s dive into some math – tide pool math, specifically.
Tide pools are a fairly common yet often overlooked element of salty seaside surveying! The shallow ecosystems often provide an excellent way for students to explore the lifeforms that reside in their nearby body of water without having to dip their toes into full-fledged aquatic safety practices and other complicated rules/regulations. BOEM (the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) has prepared a worksheet to explain tide pool-related concepts such as systematic sampling and the Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index to further educate the populace of potential hydro-focused wildlife specialists. The activities are done with laminated photos, so while you could easily just find some online, a field trip to the nearest body of water with a tide pool could just as successfully prove illuminating, with the added bonus of a fun day out in the water for the kids!
2. Debris Tracker
Link to Activity: https://debristracker.org/
Technology is advancing at a speed unlike any other in history, to the point that the Internet, only being 41 years old, would likely cause many jaws to drop in the younger student population. While this has come with some “creases in the lining,” so to speak, the world of technology has largely been a force for good, and this hasn’t changed much regarding the accessibility of education sources. A great example would be the Marine Debris Tracker app, crafted by National Geographic and Morgan Stanley. It allows any student or teacher with a phone to stroll the waterside with a bag in hand to collect any litter they may find. As soon as this data is recorded in the app, it gets uploaded to the cloud with all the other data participants have found. That data can then be sent to scientists to analyze and determine habits or areas that may lie above or below the average regarding water-based pollution. This activity would be more of an activity with the theme and lesson learned left up to the teacher. Still, it is a valuable experience to teach students about the importance of keeping our oceans clean.
3. Build a Water Strider
Link to Activity: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/build-a-water-strider
The last entry here is a very simple one, but it teaches the concept of surface tension quite effectively!
Many who have gone camping around more contained water areas such as lakes or ponds have seen the fascinating creature known as the water strider, on account of this insect effortlessly gliding across the top of the water almost as if it were figure-skating on ice instead. This is possible due to surface tension, and now you can allow your students to display that themselves with just a bit of wire. The full instructions are on the website linked above, but it more or less boils down to manipulating the wireframe to evenly disperse the weight of the construct on all legs in a way that allows the “bug” to float on top of the liquid. Just make sure to keep track of the object wherever it is! You don’t want wire sitting at the bottom of your pool for anyone to step on.
In STEM, the strength of the mind often takes a greater priority over the expansion of the body’s strength. Fortunately, these two don’t necessarily have to be exclusive! Water is an awesome substance, not just because it’s the lifeblood of all living creatures but also because it forces our muscles to work differently, just as education does for our brains.
Be sure to keep your students active while they process in the science sphere. As technology advances, convenience will too. While that is undoubtedly a good thing, one thing it cannot do yet is motivate us to exercise and prevent a sedentary lifestyle. That’s a skill born of willpower and commitment, and it gets harder and harder to persevere the older we get as habits form and harden.
So encourage your students to enjoy the summer to the fullest! They’ve got all their retirement years to sit inside and watch videos. Who knows, they may just thank you for it one day.
Do you want more resources on Marine Summer Activities? NSTEM’s vast resources database provides thousands of STEM resources that are searchable by category, school level, and state. This comprehensive library includes information 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.
