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STEM Tuesday
  • STEM Tuesday-- Cephalopods -- Writing Tips & Resources
    STEM Tuesday– Cephalopods — Writing Tips & Resources
    June 17, 2025 by
    Creativity and Octopuses! The first of the cephalopods that comes to my mind is an octopus. To me, the metaphor of a multi-limbed being is in the multi-possibilities offered to apply to creative activities. Many arms and many legs and many muscular hydrostats mean that connections can go many ways. As my focus is STE(A)M, I began to run options though my head. I settled on music, research, and visual art (camouflage). Like a cephalopod, these are just three of the connected “arms” in the world of art. I make my case below. Music and the Octopus. One of the best known octopus songs is “The Octopus’s Garden,” by Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) and recorded by the Beatles. “I’d like to be under the seaIn an octopus’s garden with you” The song is full of fun and joy. It is said that Ringo wrote the song after being told that octopuses collect stones and shells to make a decorative garden...
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  • STEM Tuesday-- Cephalopods -- In the Classroom
    STEM Tuesday– Cephalopods — In the Classroom
    June 10, 2025 by
      Oooh, this month’s theme is cephalopods! I’m always amazed but the things octopuses and squids can do—escape aquariums, camouflage in an instant, mesmerize predators with flashing colors, and so much more. I even read that octopuses can sometimes grow a ninth arm when they are injured! There’s so much to amaze kids too. And while they are not in the classroom right now, here are some activities to get kids thinking about cephalopods and learning more about them!   Ink! 100 FUN Facts about Octopuses, Squid, and More by Stephanie Warren Drimmer You can’t go wrong with National Geographic. This very visual book introduces readers to a variety of squids including cuttlefish that camouflage themselves and octopuses that outsmart their predators. The text is written by experts with first hand experience and includes many fun facts. It’s both educational and entertaining. Activity: Octopuses and squid are a lot alike...
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  • STEM Tuesday-- Cephalopods -- Book List
    STEM Tuesday– Cephalopods — Book List
    June 3, 2025 by
      Octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, and chambered nautiluses all belong to a special group of mollusks called “cephalopods,” which literally means “head-footed.” These sea creatures have long captivated scientists, inspiring some surprising inventions and discoveries throughout history. This month’s book list celebrates the wild and wonderful world of these incredible animals!   The Lady and the Octopus: How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology by Danna Staaf Version 1.0.0This biography of Jeanne Villepreux-Power dives deeply into both the historical context that shaped Jeanne and the scientific questions that captivated her. Jeanne’s passion for observing animals in their natural habitat, at odds with the conventions of her time, led to her invention of the glass aquarium, which she used to make many important discoveries about marine life. Jeanne’s contagious enthusiasm for cephalopods jumps off the page in this multifaceted portrait of a scientific pioneer, written by marine biologist Danna Staaf....
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  • STEM Tuesday-- Natural Disasters-- Author Interview
    STEM Tuesday– Natural Disasters– Author Interview
    May 27, 2025 by
    Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! Today we’re interviewing Jessica Stremer, author of Fire Escape: How Animals and Plants Survive Wildfires a middle grade nonfiction book that examines how animals and plants detect and respond to wildfires as well as the role humans play during these widespread natural disasters. Fire Escape has been named: A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection An NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book An ALA Sustainability Round Table Top 10 Selection Named to the Missouri Dogwood Reading List And now, let’s find out what sparked the idea for this book for a better earth! Emily Starr: I would love to know more about the evolution of this book’s outline. How did you move from the questions about wildfires you described in the acknowledgements to a book that includes such a wide variety of information. I never...
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Photo of Margo Lemieux

Margo Lemieux

Biography

A recently retired professor of art, Margo is devoted to seeing that the A stays in STEAM. Science & technology need the heart that comes with art. It was lack of heart that led to the ecological crisis we have today. The process of creativity is closely related to that of scientific inquiry.

She is a  published picture book writer and illustrator, editor, poet, and amateur ukulele player. In her art projects, she often included science concepts as a way of connecting learning.