STEM Tuesday

STEM Tuesday– Transportation– Writing Tips and Resources
November 18, 2025 by STEM Tuesday

Planes, trains, and automobiles. Bikes, scooters, and motorcycles. Boats, snowmobiles, and skateboards. Modes of transportation. Ways to get from one place to another. If we know where we’re going and have a semi-reliable means of transportation, then odds are we will arrive at the intended destination. If we don’t know the way, we can use some form of a map to guide our travels. (Note: I still laugh forty-some years later at how, through the magic of those high school career aptitude tests, it was revealed that the perfect profession for me was as a cartographer. Of course, I had to consult the dictionary to find out what a cartographer actually was. After some consideration and with no clue how to become a cartographer, that plan was quickly scrapped. In hindsight, I question that decision.) Reading is a mode of transportation. Reading takes the reader places. When I read one of my favorite authors, Rick Bass, his words bring me...
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STEM Tuesday– Transportation– In the Classroom
November 11, 2025 by STEM Tuesday

Books Read From Here to There: Inventions that Changed the Way the World Moves by Vivian Kirkfield and Gilbert Ford This book highlights some of the key inventions that changed how people and things move around the world. Rather than explaining the science of these inventions, it contains mini-biographies about the inventors who created these ground-breaking devices. I learned a lot about how and when different modes of transportation came about, in addition to learning about the people who made them happen. Since I didn’t have easy access to many of the books on this month’s list, I chose to read some other books that also fit into this theme. These “bonus” books are: Great Train Designs (Engineering Wonders of the 21st Century) by Sophie Washburne I’m a big fan of trains, so I was really interested to learn more about them. Great Train Designs focuses on the science...
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STEM Tuesday– Transportation– Book List
November 4, 2025 by STEM Tuesday

Explore transportation on land, sky, space, and sea with these great STEM reads. Big Bertha by Amanda Abler and illustrated by Katy Wu This is the true story of the enormous tunnel boring machine that was used to dig and build the longest and widest road tunnel in the continental United States. It explores how the machine worked and the real-world problem-solving involved in constructing a nearly two-mile long earthquake-safe highway underneath the city of Seattle. Ultimate Trains (Machines of the Future) by Peter McMahon and illustrated by Andy Mora Think of the many train tracks and the aerodynamic, fast trains that carry goods and passengers on those tracks in today’s world. Discover the history of trains from their beginnings to the present, and even where they could be heading in the future. This book includes accessible experiments that can be conducted...
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STEM Tuesday– Zombies (Real and Otherwise)– Kim Long interview
October 28, 2025 by STEM Tuesday

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! Today we’re exploring the intersection of science and spooky with Kim Long, author of Catching Cryptids: The Scientific Search for Mysterious Creatures (May 6, 2025) by Running Press Kids, illustrated by Nicole Miles. Catching Cryptids explores various technological advances in a fun way by pairing them with mythical creatures and discussing how modern technology could be used to locate or “catch” these beasts. Let’s learn more about Kim and her cryptids! Want to win a copy of Catching Cryptids? Leave a comment or email Andi Diehn (andi@diehn.net) to be entered into a random drawing! U.S. addresses only, please. Andi Diehn: This seems like a really fun topic to research! How and when did your fascination with cryptids begin? Kim Long: I’ve always been a huge fan of the strange and weird! When I...
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