50 Nifty Thrifty STEM Activities: 50+ Experiments for $10 or Less!

by Meagan Naraine, Tamir Mickens

Overview

From exploring ecosystems to manipulating static electricity, 50 Nifty Thrifty STEM Activities gives your young scientist the chance to recreate mind-blowing, at-home experiments that are $10 or less! Educators Meagan Naraine and Tamir Mickens use their 10+ years of laboratory experience to help expand your child’s scientific horizons. 

50 Nifty Thrifty STEM Activities offers:

• 50 STEM EXPERIMENTS: Interactive activities rooted in science (life and physical), technology, engineering, and math that kids can learn. 
• EASY-TO-FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS: A step-by-step instructional approach better guides kids through the STEM activities and projects. 
• ENGAGING GRAPHICS: Refer to real-life and illustrated graphics that make for entertaining interaction with the experiments. 

You’ll learn about:

• CO2 Balloons
• Wild, Wild Winds
• Magical Flames
• Crazy Cabbage Chemistry
• Racing Rockets
• And more!

Help develop the next generation of young scientists! 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780998877594
Publisher:	Young Authors Publishing
Publication date:	08/06/2024
Pages:	91
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Meagan Naraine is an experienced Science Educator and Curriculum Developer from Atlanta, GA. Using her Biology B.S. from Emory University, she taught 10th grade biology in Fulton County for 4 years, and currently teaches 8th grade physical science in Atlanta Public Schools.  She has data showing more than 10% yearly growth in student achievement on standardized state assessments. Additionally, she is a NSF-DSPETL Teacher Fellow at Georgia State University. Through this, she earned her M.A.T. in Science Education/Broad-Field Science.

Tamir Mickens is an experienced Instructional Coach, Science Educator, and Digital Content Creator from Atlanta, GA. He taught 11th grade physics and 8th grade physical science in Clayton County for 6 years, and has been a science Instructional Coach in Fulton County since 2019. Additionally, he has developed impressive talents in creating engaging and inclusive digital science curriculum. He is a proud undergraduate of Morehouse College and received his M.Ed. from Georgia State University.

Read an Excerpt

Sticky Air

Analyzing Particulate Matter

INTRODUCTION: Most air pollution is invisible to the naked eye, but it can become visible when it accumulates into very large amounts. Large amounts of air pollution that can be seen are known as particulate matter. There are many sources of particulate matter, such as dust and dirt carried by the wind, soot and smoke emitted from vehicles and factories, and even pollen.

Air quality is determined by the amount of particulate matter present in the air. For instance, when the amount of particulate matter is high, air quality is poor. In this lab, you will observe differences between the air quality of two different locations.

PROCEDURE:

1. Determine two locations to hang two pollution catchers (paper plates).

2. On the back of each plate, label them with the name of the location it will be hanging in. 

3. Use your hand to thinly coat one side of each plate with petroleum jelly. 

4. Wash your hands. 

5. Use the pen or pencil to poke one hole through the top of each plate. 

6. Loop a piece of yarn through each hole and hang each plate in their designated location.

7. Using a magnifier app or the camera on your phone, take a CLEAR picture of each plate.

8. Zoom in on each picture to count specs of particulate matter.  Record your count for each plate in the data table.

9. Let the plates sit for 24 hours, and repeat steps 7-8.

10. Let the plates sit for another 24 hours, and repeat steps 7-8.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Which location had the worst air quality? How do you know?

2. Think about this location. What SPECIFIC human impact may have caused this location to have the worst air quality? 

3. Propose a solution to improve the air quality in this location. In other words, how could you decrease the pollution of this location’s air?

Table of Contents

Dedication Page

Lab Safety Guide

Life Science Title Page

Sticky Air: Analyzing Particulate Matter

Breathing Leaves: Manipulating Reactants of Photosynthesis

Slippery Slopes: Measuring Rising Sea Levels

CO2 Balloons: Visualizing Nutrient Cycling

Make It Rain: Simulating The Water Cycle

Wild, Wild Winds: Modeling El Nino and La Nina

How Stable Is It?: Analyzing Biodiversity in Ecosystems

Water You Drinking?: Testing Drinking Water Quality

Hoo Eats Hoo?: Examining Energy Flow In Ecosystems

Death By Acid: Visualizing The Effects Of Acid Rain

Nature’s Purification: Analyzing Soil Erosion

Hermaphrodite Flowers: Dissecting Angiosperm Organs

Over The Rainbow: Transporting Water Via Capillary Action

The Ups and Downs of Pulses: Feeling Homeostasis

Flamin’ Hot: Comparing Carbohydrates & Lipids

To Chew Or Not To Chew: Activating Digestive Enzymes in Saliva

Sunny Side Up: Denaturing Proteins in Eggs

Fizzing Livers: Analyzing Enzymatic Rates

Filthy Phones: Extracting & Culturing Bacteria

Color Me Crazy: Analyzing Diffusion Rates

Sink or Swim: Modeling Cell Membrane Structure

Naked Egg-mosis: Modeling Osmosis & Tonicity

This is Bananas!: Extracting Eukaryotic DNA

Forensic Files: Examining DNA Fingerprint Patterns

Heads or Tails: Modeling Principle of Dominance

Battle Of The Beaks: Simulating Natural Selection

Physical Science Title Page

Mystery Of The Strong String: Comparing Ionic & Covalent Bonds

Marsh-molecules: Counting Atoms & Elements

Bipolar Lava Lamps: Observing Intermolecular Forces

Layered Liquid Cake: Modeling Density of Liquids

What’s The Matter?: Testing Law of Conservation of Mass

Magical Flames: Observing A Decomposition Reaction

Let’s Chalk About It: Manipulating Rate of Reaction

Hot N’ Cold: Feeling Endo- & Exothermic Reactions

Ice, Ice Baby: Changing States of Matter

Chocolate Chip Bridges: Simulating Conductive Heat Transfer

Pop Me, Please: Comparing Specific Heat Capacities

Feeling Gassy: Testing Gas Laws

Crazy Cabbage Chemistry: Testing pH of Acids & Bases

Sweet Solutions: Manipulating Molarity of Solutions

Wind ‘Um Up: Calculating Average Speed

X Marks The Spot: Constructing Vector Diagrams

Fallin’ For You: Relating Gravity & Air Resistance

Keep Doing What You Do: Exploring Newton’s First Law

Racing Rockets: Exploring Newton’s Second Law

Slight Work: Calculating Mechanical Advantage

Rough Around The Edges: Comparing Friction Forces

Eggsploring Momentum: Relating Momentum & Impulse

It’s Giving… Energy: Testing Law of Conservation of Energy

Swing With Me: Relating Wavelength, Period, & Frequency

All Bent Up: Analyzing Refractive Indexes of Mediums

Opposites Attract!: Modeling Static Electricity In Insulators

Electrifying Magnets: Manipulating Electromagnet Strength