Search by Topic

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...
    Read more →
  • 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...
    Read more →
  • 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....
    Read more →
  • Notes of Hope when the world is too much
    Notes of Hope when the world is too much
    May 28, 2025 by
    When it seems like the world is just too much for our kids, when we witness hurt, fear, loneliness, a middle schooler’s loss of family or friends, it’s time to spread some hope. This is exactly how Libby, who comes from a long line of bullies, fights her reputation after finding a stone painted with the words Create the world of your dreams, in Flight of the Puffin by Ann Braden. In searching for ways to create that world, Libby, a lonely and art driven middle schooler, sets off a chain reaction of notes of hope when she writes You are awesome on an index card and leaves it outside for someone else who might need a bolster to find. My own decision to create Notes of Hope with my students came as a project at Mount Mary University to coincide a visit from Diana Chao, originator of Letters to...
    Read more →

Read More STEM TUESDAY

More STEM Articles

Contributors

Photo of Maria Marshall

Maria Marshall

Website: www.mariacmarshall.com

Biography

Maria is a children’s author, blogger, and poet passionate about making nature and reading fun for children. She was a round 2 judge for the 2018 & 2017 Cybils Awards. And a judge for the #50PreciousWords competition since its inception. Two of her poems are published in The Best Of Today’s Little Ditty 2016 and 2014-2015 anthologies. She is the parent of two amazing adults and lives in the Pacific Northwest with two Pixie Bob cats. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she bird watches, travels the world, bakes, and hikes.