It’s that time of year. The sun is out longer, the end of school is in sight, and flowers are blooming everywhere. It’s time to GET OUTSIDE and get your Outdoor science on! Where do you start?
Head to your bookshelf!
That’s right, inspiration for how to imagine, invent and discover great outdoor science is right there among the books.
What are you interested in? Bugs? Moths? Birds? Cool!
Check out a few of these books.
What about doing some FUN activities while you’re outside? Then check out the entire Outdoor School series!
Or perhaps you have more of a technology bent and want to understand how animals and technology go together.
Don’t forget to notice all of the cool engineering around you! In fact, do some of the activities in these awesome books to experience it!
Finally, what if you are just inspired to invent something? Try out these fun books
For MORE great ideas of how to use STEM/STEAM books to enhance fun outdoors,
check out our STEM Tuesday Blog, which has almost FIVE years worth of activities for kids/parents/teachers —
and also STEAMTEAMbooks website which highlights new STEM/STEAM books from 2020 to 2022!
Listen to an Expert and Go On a Water Walk
Dr. Kelsey Leonard, of the Shinnecock Nation gives a talk on the award-winning podcast, Solve It for Kids!
CHALLENGE:
Go on a Water Walk! Pick a body of water near your house and go with your parents on a walk safely along the water. Take time to notice things about the water. Does it flow? Is it still? What color is the water? Does it look healthy? Are there a lot of plants around it, etc? Also, spend time just breathing and thinking about the water. Listen to it, too.
Now that your interest has been piqued, it’s time to DO something with your new knowledge.
Your challenge is to observe, draw, and get outside to explore! Here are a few suggestions:
- Come up with a new type of animal– one that doesn’t exist but you think it should
- Design a new type of bionic robot that mimics the way an animal moves or reacts that would be helpful to humans
- Draw a picture of a car or building that would be awesome to drive or live in
- Write a story about your creation and share it with your friends and family
- Make a game or puzzle for others to try to guess what you drew
- Turn your backyard or living room into a new type of ecosystem and take everyone on a safari
Science really IS all around you. It starts with your imagination. Time to let that imagination and inspiration SOAR!
I’d love to see what you come up with.
Enjoy the outdoors and Happy Science-ing!
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Jennifer is also the creator and administrator of #STEMTuesday and #STEAMTeam2020