Engineering and Coding for Kids!
Stem Education and Maker Blog
STEM Project Based Learning Outcomes
Project-based learning is where students gain knowledge and skills by investigating and responding to authentic, engaging, and complex questions, problems or challenges. It’s a teaching method you’ll often find in classrooms, homeschools and learning centers, and -...
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Low Cost Alternatives to After School Coding Camp
Parents can spend up to $1,000 a month on after school coding camps, hoping to instill the life-long value of STEM skills in their children. We get it: learning STEM is important, and we think that being exposed to coding as early as possible makes for a...
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$5 STEM Fun!
STEM is for everyone! And it doesn't take too long or too much money for your kiddos (or you!) to learn essential skills in science and engineering. We pulled together three projects that don't take too much time or cash - and still give you a fun time,...
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5 ways to get tech into your homeschool classroom
Take a Field Trip Take virtual field trips to the cultures, times and places you’re learning about in your current curriculum. Have students do independent research on a home computer, compiling photos and information, and maybe even have them teach YOU what they’ve...
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Test your Astronaut Knowledge!
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, test your knowledge of astronaut and space history.
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Making Screentime Productive
Making Screentime Productive There are lots of articles that discuss why screen time is bad for kids, and explain how much screen time is good for kids, as well as tools for limiting it. Out-of-school time creates more time for parents and students to argue about...
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Taking STEM on the Road
Taking STEM on the Road Are you hitting the road this summer? Road trips are a mainstay of summer time! Traveling to new destinations, combined with lots of time in the car, allow for lots of opportunities to keep minds active and engaged while you are on the road. ...
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Summer STEM Fun!
Summer has arrived, and somehow everyone’s already bored or sucked inside of a television. Panic has set in and you’re wondering how to keep little minds learning, growing and occupying themselves with constructive creativity. Well, you’re in luck - Here’s our Summer...
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Makerspace Essentials
According to John Spencer, co-author of Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student, a makerspace is “...simply a space designed and dedicated to hands-on creativity.” When we think of a makerspace, we think of an area in...
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What is a Maker?
We talk a lot about “makers” at MakeCrate, and if you’ve been wondering what a “maker” is, it’s time to learn all about Maker Culture! Definition: A maker is a person (or thing) that makes or produces something. When we talk about makers, we’re referring to kids &...
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Profiles in STEM: Octavia Butler
Octavia Butler is deemed to be a visionary among futurists, according to CNN’s Emanuella Grinberg. During a time in the latter half of the 1900s when the realm of science-fiction writers was dominated by an industry of mostly white dominated writers and she rose to...
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Fact from Fiction: Real Inventions from Science Fiction
Some of our great modern inventions were born years ago in the minds of creative writers and artists. Learn about the ways that science fiction has impacted our reality. Cell phones Cell phone technology inventor Martin Cooper credits his inspiration...
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Series and Parallel Circuits: Bonus Project
In this project, we'll explore the differences between series and parallel circuits. We'll start with some vocabulary. A series circuit is a circuit in which resistors are arranged in a chain, so the current has only one path to take. The current is the same through...
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Women in Space: Milestone Achievements
Here at MakeCrate we have a particular fondness for women in STEM. After all, our founder is a woman. We also have a fondness for space. Because SPACE! So we thought it’d be fun to put the two together and celebrate just a fraction of the records,...
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Recycling Logic Puzzle
Test your problem solving ability with this recycling logic puzzler!Four recycling trucks arrive in different days, and in different times, to collect recycling materials.What is the color of the truck that collects batteries? Use the chart and clues below to help you...
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5 Great STEM Activities for Outdoors
5 Great STEM Activities for OutdoorsSpring is here! The beautiful weather calls us outside, and creates the perfect opportunity to bring learning outdoors. Check out these ideas to encourage STEM learning while taking advantage of the great outdoors!...
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Profiles in STEM: Rachel Carson
Perhaps the finest nature writer of the Twentieth Century, Rachel Carson (1907-1964) is remembered today as the woman who challenged the notion that humans could obtain mastery over nature by chemicals, bombs and space travel than for her studies of ocean life. Her...
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Robots Every Day!
MakeCrate’s Robox, an educational robot subscription, is designed to teach kids how to build and program robots- great skills to have as robots become more and more prevalent in our everyday lives. Let’s take a look at some of the amazing ways that robots...
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Profiles in STEM: Helen Greiner
The team at MakeCrate loves automation and we are ready adopters of just about any tool to increase efficiency and eliminate chores. So today we are celebrating Helen Greiner, co-founder of iRobot, and one of the designers of the iRobot Roomba -a self-driving vacuum...
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STEM Lesson Plans: Coding and Engineering
STEM Lesson Plans: Coding and EngineeringBring engineering and coding to your classroom with our free downloadable lesson plans!STEM skills like coding, engineering, and robotics are important for all kids as they prepare for the future. Our educator written lesson...
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A Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Child Excited about Coding and Engineering
Download our free STEM, coding, and engineering parent's guide! Bring STEM skills to your child with our free parent's guide to coding and engineering! Why do you need our parent's guide...
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Robot Logic!
Test your problem solving ability with this robot logic puzzler! You are locked in a room with only two doors. Each door is guarded by a robot. One door leads to your escape, while the other leads to certain death. In order to choose your door, you are allowed to ask...
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Bonus Project: Color Changer
See how colors mix with this project using an RGB LED. What You'll Learn When you are finished with this project, you'll be able to: Build a circuit using an RGB LED Understand how colors are created by mixing red, blue, and green What You'll Need To complete this...
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Bonus Project: Optical Theremin
A theremin is an electronic instrument in which two high-frequency oscillators control tone while the musicians hand movements control the pitch. In this bonus project, we'll build a similar instrument, in which hand movements control the amount of light that the...
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