As 4th of July approaching, many families are planning BBQ parties at home in the backyard. What can kids do at a picnic party or a dinner party? I always like the ideas of simple activities that kids can learn while having fun. It is a plus if there is no prep work needed. Building with toothpick meets all these criteria and is one of my favorite. You can easily adapt it to different themes. For 4th of July you… Read more

Why coding camp for kids? In today’s world, almost everything we do is connected with computers. Shopping, cooking, banking, … Computer literacy is essential for modern life. It is important for everyone to have basic understanding of how computer works, even if you are not planning to be a computer engineer. One big part of understanding computers is to understand how we communicate with computers. Computer coding or programming is basically the language we use to communicate with computers. Since… Read more

Have you tried Minute to Win It Games for Kids at school? It is a fun way to engage kids in learning in a group setting, such as a classroom party or family holiday party. These STEM Minute-to-Win-It Games are easy to set up and easy to play, each activity has STEM learning elements. You can adapt rules and difficulty levels for different age groups. Fun STEM Minute To Win It Games for Kids Scuba Diver: create a scuba diver… Read more

We tried several Egg Drop Project design ideas, each with a different material limitation, some limited materials with straws, and some limited to paper. Today’s Egg Drop Project design challenge is another idea we came up with while doing a different paper project. So this is our 2nd idea on paper only Egg Drop Project design. Compared to the last paper only Egg Drop Project design, this one should sustain a stronger impact and greater drop height. Why We Like… Read more

Can you teach shapes and geometry with computer coding games? Today I am excited to share a new coding toy that I used to just do that. Teaching kids Coding has become a popular topic nowadays. We all know today’s kids will grow up into a new world that computers and robots are essential parts of life. Even if they don’t want to be a programmer to write computer codes, it is important to understand how programs and coding work… Read more

Spatial reasoning skills, which are critical higher-order thinking skills, come to attention for their role in STEM career success in recent years. What are spatial reasoning skills? Why are they important for science and technology careers? Are spatial reasoning skills trainable? If yes, how can we improve our children’s spatial reasoning skills? Spatial Reasoning Skills Introduction Spatial reasoning is the ability to think about and manipulate objects in three dimensions. Spatial thinking allows you to understand the location and dimension… Read more

Computer coding involves many different knowledge and skills. Have you ever tried color mixing with coding with kids? On computers, a very common color coding system is the RGB color model. According to wikipedia, “the RGB color model is an additive color model in which red, green and blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additive primary colors, red, green… Read more

Egg painting with vinegar? This is the most fun way of decorating hard-boiled eggs with kids. A great STEAM project for science class too. It is a fun science craft activity combining science and art, and it started with an art app we were using to learn drawing. If you are STEM teacher, this is an ideal STEAM (Science Tech Engineer Art Math) project for kids. It is very easy. All you need are crayons and vinegar, and of course… Read more

There are many good physics games on mobile devices, but some games have content that is not appropriate for kids, since most of these games are not designed for kids. In the meantime, there are many games that are safe for kids to play, and kids will learn a lot through these games. It takes time to find good physics games safe for kids to play. I went through many of these games and put together a list of physics… Read more

Origami is a fun activity for kids of all ages. Today we share the easiest yet fun paper project – paper parachute. We used this project for our egg drop project with paper only, but the parachute can be used for many other activities too. Because it only requires paper, and some glue or tape, its low preparation, and few required materials make it an easy STEM project for kids of all ages. Depends on the kids’ age, parents and… Read more

Have you tried the Mobius strip? It is a very interesting math concept. There are different ways to create the Mobius strip and the fun part is to cut it in half. Depending on how you make them, the outcomes could be very different.  Today we will just make one type: two interlocked hearts.  What are Mobius Strips? First, we need to learn some fun facts about Mobius Strip. To better understand it, it is best to make one. Have… Read more

If you are going through our computer coding series, by now, you have learned the 5 crucial coding skills someone needs to be a good computer programmer. You also practiced the skills of decomposition and thinking from different perspectives. Today, we talk about debug, finding and fixing mistakes. Debugging skill is essentially problem-solving skill because you debug when the code is not working.No matter how good you are at programming, you will always run into situations that the code is… Read more

Today we continue our exploration of natural science experiments with kids. Do you have a lot of wind in your area? What makes the wind blow? How does wind power energy work? How can we use wind energy? Have you made any wind turbines or pinwheels? When it is not too cold, an interesting thing to do is to explore and learn about the wind with fun wind science experiments with kids. Fun Wind Science Activities for Kids to Explore… Read more

Thinking from a different perspective is a critical thinking skill that is essential for kids to learn computer coding. In fact, it is essential to many jobs. There are many ways to help kids develop the skill. Today we share a coding game we developed that can get you started on training kids the critical skill of thinking from a different perspective. Today’s game is an extension of the Hot Dog Coding Game. The story behind the game is the… Read more