In our post about molecular model kits for use with younger students, we’d mentioned seeing various “off-brand” versions of Molymod- and Minit-style model kits available for sale online. We’ve bought them to find out how they compare with “The Real Deal.” Are they mediocre quality knock-offs or a boon to small budgets?
3D graphics are great, but nothing provides the same experience as handling and manipulating a physical model. Children truly enjoy assembling these models, so it is worth the investment of time and money to purchase and/or borrow them. Here we introduce a range of different model types, along with their strengths and weaknesses for use with younger students.
Building activities are perennial favorites with students of all ages. Although there’s no one building set that’s best for all activities, here are two options that we’ve found to be particularly good for our modules.
Kid- and budget-friendly testing jigs for measuring various aspects of a material’s strength & more, as featured in the upcoming Materials Science module. These designs are inexpensive, durable, and require minimal tools and skills to construct.
Your students’ data is imperfect …the activity is ruined? Not at all! It’s actually a fantastic opportunity to teach some critical concepts about data collection and analysis. Those imperfections can actually reveal a lot about the system being studied, the measurement tools involved, and the experimenters themselves!
Games most young children already know how to play are popular station activities. A printer and cardstock are all you need to create your own science-based versions. Alternatively, inexpensive blank playing cards are readily available online. Attaching printed text and images with clear packing tape produces sturdy, long-wearing cards. An Read more…
The need to weigh or add weight to something is a frequent feature in science activities. Fortunately, not only are there many different options – and what’s “best” varies by activity – but plenty of them are inexpensive or free! Here we discuss what we’ve found to be the most useful and kid-friendly choices.
Each activity has its own supply needs, of course, but in this post we describe the “essentials.” Versatile, reusable items that have proven useful in almost all club module run. Plus, they can be obtained for cheap or even free!