Perfect STEM Activities for Middle School Students

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs are important in schools because they can prepare students for these jobs when they enter the job market. Despite the immense importance of STEM in creating innovative solutions for society, the curriculum in middle schools may only include science and mathematics.

 

Teachers and instructors can incorporate interactive and fun STEM activities for middle school students into their classrooms, helping to support existing courses and create new and engaging lessons. 

Why is it necessary to learn STEM in high school?

Middle school is an important time for children to learn and explore their interests. As they begin to explore subjects more deeply and think about their future, students begin to realize where their academic strengths lie and what they want to pursue in the future.

 

Therefore, children should be exposed to a wide range of subjects. Including lessons that are diverse in topics and applications can help children become familiar with subjects they love and nurture their passions. Developing a deep understanding of what they enjoy and are good at can help guide them in their future, especially as they prepare for high school.

Diversity in STEM

Introducing STEM courses to children earlier can help break down negative stereotypes associated with the field. Although STEM is a broad field with many practical applications, women held only about 27% of jobs in 2019. Girls often show a strong interest in STEM subjects and applications, but a lack of ability to practice and use these skills discourages them from pursuing STEM degrees and careers.

Soft skills

Integrating STEM into middle school curriculums can introduce children to the subjects and materials they need to succeed in high school, college, and beyond. Children can also develop and hone essential soft skills like problem solving and critical thinking. Soft skills are harder to train, forcing employers to look for people who already have these skills.

The interactive nature of STEM allows children to practice developing soft skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and innovation to complete assignments and activities. These are essential areas of development and are top skills that employers look for, especially as technology continues to change the workplace. Communication and problem solving are also highly valued by employers. Integrating these skills into fun STEM activities helps children develop early.

STEM in middle school curriculums offers a great opportunity to introduce students to a new field of study. It can also help them succeed in the adult workforce with the soft skills they need. Even if students choose careers other than STEM, they can still apply the soft skills they learn in these classes.

 

STEM Learning Activities in Middle School

Car powered by balloons or wind

A great way to incorporate different laws of physics into one activity while testing your students' engineering skills is to have them build a car. You can choose how the car moves depending on the content of the lesson, and the materials available in the classroom.

Balloon cars are great for learning about Newton's laws. In this experiment, students will use bottles, straws, skewers, and bottle caps to create a car that can roll efficiently when pushed.

To attach the wheel, students will need to follow these steps:

1. Start by cutting two skewers slightly wider than the bottle and glue them to one side of the bottle.
2. Cut two skewers and make them slightly longer than the straw.
3. The teacher should drill holes in four bottle caps to make wheels. Students can push one wheel onto a skewer, stick the skewer into a straw, and attach another wheel to the other end of the skewer.
4. Repeat with two more bottle caps and another skewer for the remaining shaft.

Students will need to practice problem solving skills to figure out how to assemble the wheels and axles so that the car can move. Students may have to experiment with different lengths and configurations of straws and skewers to get the car to move smoothly.

Children will attach a third straw to a balloon and tie it with a rubber band to create thrust. After making a small hole in the bottle opposite the wheel, children will attach the other end of the straw to the bottle and stick it out the mouth of the bottle. They will then blow air into the balloon through the straw and use their fingers to prevent air from escaping. After releasing the straw and the car, children can observe Newton's three laws of motion as the air escapes from the balloon and moves the car forward.

A wind car is similar to a bottle car, except that students will use cardboard and paper instead of bottles. You will still use the same materials for the axles and wheels, and children will use paper with skewers through it as sails. Students can see how far their car travels when placed in front of a fan and change design elements, such as the size of the sail, to see how that affects distance and friction.

 

This gives students a more hands-on approach to physics concepts. You can place cars in a long hallway or classroom and measure the distance they travel while asking students to guess why.

Students must use problem-solving and critical thinking skills in both experiments to ensure the car works and determine how to achieve the desired results. Additionally, you can group students together to help them develop teamwork and communication skills, and create a fun competition with other teams at the end of the lesson.

Make a car that runs on rubber bands

Rubber band cars are a more complex way for students to test their engineering skills by building a car. For this middle school STEM idea, you will need a square piece of cardboard to make the body of the car, similar to a wind car. You will use the same method as the straws and skewers. However, for the wheels, you will use CDs with holes stuffed with foam and secured with tape.

Students will need to cut a square in the front of the car, through the front axle straw to give the car thrust. They will then tie a rubber band around the exposed axle shaft. Cut a slit in the middle of the car and twist a paper clip through it. Then, attach the rubber band around it. Students will rotate the front wheel and release it to make the car roll.

While this project is similar to the others, it requires more problem solving. If your class did this experiment before the balloon and wind car experiment, they may need to troubleshoot the axle to make sure the car rolls smoothly. They will need to check how much foam and tape they need to secure the wheel to the axle.

Finally, if the bike won't roll or go far, you may need to check the elastic band to make sure it's securely fastened or try the bike on a surface with more friction.

This project gives students a way to interact with potential and kinetic energy. When they spin the front axle, they create potential energy, which is converted to kinetic energy when released. You can also discuss how energy is not created or lost but becomes friction when the car comes to a stop, making this a great STEM experiment for middle school students.

Egg drop machine

This middle school science activity requires students to combine their knowledge of gravity and engineering. Students must build a structure to keep an egg from breaking when dropped from a great height. You can make a list of supplies or have your child bring something they think will help them.

Egg droppers encourage creativity and problem solving because there are multiple ways to build them. Students can test their creations over a period of time and make adjustments based on the results. They will need to identify where the problem is in their design and how to fix it.

This fun STEM activity involves gravity and physics, combining students' understanding of science with engineering. You can discuss different science concepts as students work through the various stages of the project, allowing them to connect ideas to actions and outcomes.