By: Tvisha Rohatgi
On September 17th, JuSTEMagine had the chance to host an exciting STEM night in partnership with Girls Inc. of Omaha at their North Omaha location, the first of its kind of JuSTEMagine endeavors. Students participated in a variety of hands-on STEM activities, including robotics, chemistry, and engineering, bringing scientific concepts to life in fun and creative ways. Following are several of the activities hosted:
LEGO Boats:
At this station, students explored buoyancy through a fun and involved challenge. Using LEGOs, the participants built their own boats and tested their designs by adding pennies onto the boats floating in a tub of water. The goal was to see how many pennies each boat could hold before sinking.
Density & Chemical Reactions:
One fascinating activity was the chemistry table. Students learned why oil and water don’t mix and how their different densities cause them to separate. During the activity, they observed oil floating on top of water, visually demonstrating the concept of density, along with a chemical reaction of combining vinegar and baking soda. This simple yet captivating experiment helped students understand the properties of liquids.
Marshmallow Molecules:
In another station, students used marshmallows to represent molecules, learning about bonds and structures. The students visualized how substances are formed by arranging marshmallows as atoms and connecting them to form various molecules. This hands-on approach made the concept of molecular bonding much more understandable.
Kamigami Robots:
Using robots generously donated by Prairie STEM, the girls coded and maneuvered bug-shaped robots with iPads. This was a crowd favorite among the girls as they were able to change the colors of the robots’ lights and make them dance with a few swift programming moves.
Straw Rockets:
As an engineering activity, the girls were given plastic straws to launch off straw launcher donated by Prairie STEM. Using miscellaneous materials such as different kinds of tape, modeling clay, construction paper, and more, the girls were able to compete to see whose rocket would be launched the farthest.
The STEM event at Girls Inc. was filled with discovery, fun, and learning. From robotics to candy DNA models, every station offered a unique opportunity to explore different scientific concepts. We hope to host more STEM nights in the future!
Comments