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Spring STEM Guide

Welcome to the Spring 2023 edition of our seasonal STEM guides! It contains:

  • STEM related Spring events and themed days/weeks
  • Quick, easy website and activity suggestions for how to get involved (click on the pictures to find out more)
  • Spring STEM resource recommendations

Diaries at the ready! The events listed below are a really good way to help theme your STEM activities and help children to make real-world links. Spring is full of new life; from tree buds and colourful bulbs emerging from the ground to lambs, frogspawn and early butterflies. Spring is a hopeful time when we can spend longer outside and enjoy all the season has to offer. Make the most of it with these STEM events.

International Women’s Day (8th March)

International Women’s Day is an annual event. It’s all about celebrating women’s achievements, raising awareness against bias and taking action for equality. t is a way to show how women have and continue to influence the world. As well as celebrating brilliant women, it’s also used as a day to highlight and raise awareness about issues that women still face. Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exists isn’t enough, action is needed to level the playing field.

How to get involved…

British Science Week (10-19th March)

British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths that takes place between 10-19th March. British Science Week provides a platform to stimulate and support teachers, STEM professionals, science communicators and the general public to produce and participate in STEM events and activities.

The theme for the 2023 activity packs is ‘Connections’.

How to get involved…

World Water Day (22nd March)

World Water Day is a UN observance day, with the aim to highlight the importance of freshwater. It celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is all about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. 

The UN uses this day to highlight the importance of water usage and the effects it can have on climate change. The campaign shows how our use of water can help reduce floods, droughts, scarcity and pollution, and how it can help fight climate change itself.

How to get involved…

National Robotics Week (1-8th April)

The mission of National Robotics Week (RoboWeek) is simple: to inspire students into robotics and STEM related fields, and share the excitement of robotics across all ages. It showcases the strength of the industry and the amazing things yet to come. Activities can come in all shapes and sizes from a robot themed party to a robotics competition.

How to get involved…

Earth Day (22nd April)

The Earth Day 2023 Theme is Invest In Our Planet. This is the moment to change it all — the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate. Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, our livelihoods… together, we must Invest In Our Planet.

How to get involved…

International Astronomy Day (29th April)

International Astronomy Day is a worldwide event which is observed annually on the 7th May. It’s intended to promote greater education and understanding of the universe, as well as the ways in which we can observe it. Star-gazing, visits to planetariums and astronomy workshops are common activities.

How to get involved…

Spring STEM Resource Recommendations

Here are a few of our ‘must have’ Spring STEM resources. We think you’ll come back to them year after year with your children! Click on each picture to view it on Amazon.

Have we missed off a winter STEM event or a ‘must have’ winter STEM resource? If so then add it to the comments below. (note: this is a UK based website so some events have a UK focus).

Winter STEM Guide

Welcome to the Winter 2023/24 edition of our seasonal STEM guides! It contains:

  • STEM related winter events and themed days/weeks
  • Quick, easy website and activity suggestions for how to get involved (click on the pictures to find out more)
  • Wintery STEM resource recommendations

Diaries at the ready! The events listed below are a really good way to help theme your STEM activities and help children to make real-world links. From frosty starts to roaring fires, from festive feels to valentines joy, Winter is a time to get cosy and enjoy all the season has to offer. Make the most of it with these STEM events.

Computer Science Week (6-12th December 23)

Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) is an annual call to action to inspire children to learn computer science, advocate for equity in computer science education, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field. This week is held in recognition of the birthday of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (9th Dec 1906) who coined the term “bug” (an error in a program) after removing an actual moth from a computer in 1947!

How to get involved…

Christmas (25th December)

‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year!’

There are lots of Christmas activities that make great STEM links. Make the most of the darker, cosier evenings by curling up with a wintery STEM book. See below for our ‘seasonal STEM books’ recommendations. Plus, keep your eyes peeled for our STEM advent calendar! Behind each door is a quick, easy STEM activity that you can do with children.

How to get involved…

RSPB’s Big School’s Birdwatch (8th Jan- 19th Feb 2024)

RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch (26-28th Jan 2024)

Big Garden Birdwatch: Be wowed by your local wildlife. Simply count the birds you see in your garden, from your balcony or in your local park for one hour between 26-28th January 2024.

Big School’s Birdwatch: If you’re a teacher, why not take part in the RSPB’s Big School’s Birdwatch. You can submit your results on the RSPB website from the 8th Jan-19th Feb.

RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the reason it’s been going for so long is because it’s such valuable work. The results that schools submit to the RSPB are used by scientists to help create a picture of how birds are faring across the UK.

How to get involved…

NSPCC Numbers Day (2nd February 2024)

Join schools across the UK on Friday 2nd February 2024 for the NSPCC’s mega maths fundraising day.

Take part in Dress up for Digits and have a fun-filled day of maths activities and games, while raising money to support our services such as Childline.

The money you raise could help the NSPCC run its Speak out Stay safe programme to help children understand what abuse is and what to do if they’re scared or worried.

How to get involved…

Safer Internet Day (6th February 2024)

Safer Internet Day 2024 will be celebrated on the 6th February with the theme ‘inspiring change’.

From gaming and chat, to streaming and video, young people are shaping the interactive entertainment spaces they are a part of. Safer Internet Day 2024 celebrates young people’s role in creating a safer internet, whether that is whilst gaming and creating content, or interacting with their friends and peers.

How to get involved…

Engineers Week (18-24th February 2024)

Founded by NSPE in 1951, Engineers Week (18-24th February 2024) is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers.

Engineers Week celebrates the positive contributions that engineers have made to the quality of life. It’s also an opportunity to increase diversity within the workplace, reinforce good education, and increase interest and understanding of the trade.

Celebrating Engineers Week enables young people to be inspired and motivated to get involved in engineering, especially if teachers and parents contribute. Dedicating lesson time to engineering will help children to understand the basics, so they can decide if they want to pursue it as a career.

How to get involved…

Winter STEM Resource Recommendations

Here are a few of our ‘must have’ Winter STEM resources. We think you’ll come back to them year after year with your children! Click on each picture to view it on Amazon.

Have we missed off a winter STEM event or a ‘must have’ winter STEM resource? If so then add it to the comments below. (note: this is a UK based website so some events have a UK focus).

National Coding Week

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National Coding Week is a not-for-profit social movement established to encourage children and adults to learn digital skills including coding.

Using the “Learn, Share and Have fun” philosophy we encourage organisations to offer adults opportunities and support in order to build their confidence.

They encourage those with digital skills to share them during the week – we especially hope that all organisations get involved including: hubs, libraries, training providers, NGOs.

10 STEM apps to get kids coding

We’ve listed our top 10 STEM apps to get kids coding. What’s more, they’re all free!

No. 10 – Swift Playground

SUMMARY: In this game, players write code to help their character, Byte, move around and collect gems. The accompanying tutorials make the game relatively easy to understand. The app is created by Apple and features beautiful visuals.

TOP TIP: The app takes up quite a lot of room on an ipad so make sure you have plenty of space. You’ll also need to be running one of the more recent software updates.Kodable

No. 9 – Kodable

SUMMARY: This app allows the player to sequence a set of instructions to make their character roll through the maze highlighted in each level. We love the simple kodable interface and friendly characters. This game is a great way to introduce young children to coding.

TOP TIP: There are some really great resources on this app for parents who need some help understanding the programming language used in the levels.

No.8 – Bee-Bot

SUMMARY: Many of us have used the tts bee-bots in the classroom and now you can access them through this free app! Much like the classroom floor robots, the aim of the game is to move the bee-bot around the screen to get to the flower. Players will need to program in directional code in order to do so.

TOP TIP: This app is a good introduction to coding and works well with younger children.

No. 7 – Daisy the Dinosaur

SUMMARY: The Daisy the Dinosaur character is sure to appeal to younger users as they guide Daisy through the different challenges. Each stage introduces new coding skills. There is an option either to work through the challenges or apply your new skills in ‘free play’.

TOP TIP: This game is worth downloading for its simple, child-friendly interface and the fact that it doesn’t charge for access to the more advanced levels!

No. 6 – Cargo Bot

SUMMARY: The aim of this game is to move the cargo around using the cargo-bot’s robotic arm. First time users can work their way through the tutorial levels before applying their coding skills to the main levels in the game. It’s a simple idea that proves to be an addictive challenge!

TOP TIP: This game is better suited to the upper end of the primary school age range due to the complexity of some of the levels.

Tynker

No. 5 – Tynker

SUMMARY: Tynker is full of lots of fun, story-based puzzles that gradually introduce the player to coding. Children will enjoy customising their character and appreciate the funny story lines.

TOP TIP: As with many of the apps we have featured, only a few levels of the game are available for free.

Lightbot

No. 4 – LightBot

SUMMARY: The user takes on the role of the lightbot, sequencing the instructions to make this character walk, jump and, most importantly, turn on lights. As the player progresses through the levels, there are clear tutorials for new actions.

TOP TIP: Some of the levels are fairly challenging so children may want to pair up and work together as the levels get more advanced.

Hopscotch

No.3 – Hopscotch

SUMMARY: As children drag and drop the commands and instructions into the script they will make the various characters move. We love the instructional videos that accompany each of the projects in this coding app.

No. 2 – Hour of Code

SUMMARY: Although not strictly an app, the Hour of Code website is full of one hour long coding tutorials. The tutorials are filtered by both age and ability and link up to many of the other coding apps recommended by us. Access it here:

TOP TIP: Watch the Hour of Code video with your class to inspire them with their coding and introduce them to some inspirational coding role models.

scratch jr

No. 1 – Scratch

SUMMARY: Now a staple app on most school ipads, Scratch Jr is a great way to introduce children to coding. The app involves programming scratch and his friends to move around using jigsaw-style coding blocks. It also allows the user to change the background, personalise the characters and add audio clips.

TOP TIP: First time users will need a bit of teacher guidance to get going as this app is not always self-explanatory.

 

For more great STEM app ideas, check out our webpage here.