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Our STEM Spark friend Stephanie B. (hi Stephanie!) suggested that we do the edible science experiment rain cloud in a jar, and although we've done this one a few times before, we couldn't think of a better month to finally share the experiment with the rest of our STEM Spark friends! Because April brings April showers; or in our case, rain clouds in jars! You'll Need Clear jar Water Canned Whipped Cream (like Reddi Whip) Blue Food Coloring Instructions 1. Fill the clear jar

Alright, we're wrapping up Women's History Month here at STEM Spark with a free, downloadable poster of Sally Ride! I have a special tie to Sally Ride, as it was with a Sally Ride Grant and Lab at my elementary school that furthered my interest in STEM. Per NASA's website , " Sally Ride is best known as the first American woman in space. Following her death on July 23, 2012 at the age of 61, she also is being remembered as a soft-spoken physicist who wanted to inspire young

Hello STEM Sparkers! STEM Spark hopes you all are enjoying your March and Women's History Month. This week's post combines our love of STEM, picture books and history, so without further ado here's the list of ten picture books that feature Women in STEM. Check out one to all ten from your local library or bookstore! 1) Hedy Lamarr's Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor (People Who Shaped Our World) 2) A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Help

Dr. Seuss Day, aka Read Across America Day, is on March 2nd this year! And I can't think of a better way to celebrate than by making some Non-Newtonian Fluid, aka Oobleck ! The Oobleck can also be dyed green, making it a great St. Patrick Day's science experiment as well! You'll Need Box of Corn Starch Water Measuring cups A Bowl or Pie Tin Spoon Food coloring (optional) Paper towels, paper ads, paper table cloth, or newspaper to cover your working surface to make clean up e

Hello STEM Sparkers! It's actually been below freezing at STEM Spark headquarters, and may I dare say almost like a real winter? Okay, it's probably more like a real fall. And I can only image our Mid-West friends laughing and shaking their heads at us Phoenicians and our desire to play with snow, even if that snow is human-made from the Frozen Science kit! Will your kids like it and/or will you hate it? I saw the Frozen Science kit on sale at Target, and I thought since

For some more STEM-entine's fun, I've made a quick video tutorial on how to make a Lego heart! This Lego heart is geared towards people whose dexterity is limited; so like preschoolers, arthritis patients (like me), the elderly and so on. Plus, the bricks should be easy to find in any Lego stash or store. I think it will make for a fun STEM project to do with your family and friends on Valentine's Day, so have fun building the heart STEM Sparkers! You won't wanna Lego of t

Nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like a science experiment, right? Okay, maybe not so much. But what are you going to do with all those left over cinnamon candy hearts that didn't go into a Valentine's card? Science experiment of course (see first sentence for reference)! STEM Spark presents "Dissolving Candy Hearts" for your Valentine's Day STEM fun! You'll Need: Candy Hearts (preferably the red hard kind) Water Plate, bowl or tray Instructions: 1) Place candy hearts

Time for my second review for Multicultural Children's Book Day ( MCBD ), which is on January 25 this year-- Aliana Reaches for the Moon by Laura Roettiger. I'm so thrilled that STEM Spark received another picture book featuring a girl enjoying STEM activities to review for MCBD ! And as a reminder, here's a little bit about MCBD . Multicultural Children’s Book Day in its 6th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom .

Got the winter blues and need some STEM fun? These fun snowman sums will add up to a good time! STEM Spark hopes you find this free math worksheet featuring snowman fun and cool (okay, done with the puns). Click here to download it or find it in the shop . Thanks!

As a female engineer, supporting diversity in my profession is close to my heart and supporting diversity in children's book is an extension of that.  It's why I'm excited to be participating in Multicultural Children's Book Day ( MCBD ), which is on January 25 this year, and especially thrilled to receive a copy of the picture book How to Code a Sandcastle from the author, Josh Funk, to review for STEM Spark! Here's a little about MCBD . Multicultural Children’s Book Da

Happy 2019 STEM Spark-ers! When you live in a warm weather place like Phoenix, you rarely receive snowfall ( it has happened though) . So if you don't get snow, then why not make some?  That's exactly what STEM Spark did over winter break! Let it snow, let it STEM, let it STEM, let it snow! You'll Need: 3 cups of baking soda 1/2 cup of hair conditioner (suggest white in color so that it looks like snow) glitter (optional) large plastic container or large pan "snow" tools: b

As we make plans for the new year, I want to encourage everyone reading STEM Spark to include STEM or STEAM activities into their 2019 plans. And I think one of the best ways to do so is with a STEM/STEAM subscription monthly subscription box like Kiwi Crate , Mel Science or Green Kid Crafts ! Now, we've only tried out Kiwi Crate in our house (thanks Auntie T for a subscription; you know us well!), but Mel Science and Green Kid Crafts look like they'll be just as fun as Kiwi

Wow, 2019 is right around the 90 degrees (get it? 90 degrees is a corner, haha)! I sincerely hope everyone had a few highs and good times in 2018, and as you ring in the New Year, may you enjoy this STEM/STEAM inspired activity! Happy Holidays and a Very Merry Happy New Year to all the STEM Spark readers. You'll Need: Balloons Toilet Paper Tubes or Paper Towel Tubes Scissors Tape Colored paper (optional for decorating outside of tubes) Stickers (optional for decorating out

This summer I came across Tegu Travel Pals, and I was excited to get one for Jack-- it's a wooden, magnetic tangram puzzle that one can take anywhere! Well, we finally got around to trying ours out last night, and you can see Jack and mine's review below. STEM Spark is also raffling of the exact same Tegu Travel Pals Spaceship; see directions below! Happy STEM-i-days! Will your kid(s) like it, or will you (the adult) hate it (that it don't matter if they like it)? Jack lov

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell slime Jingle bells chime in jingle bell slime Twisting and stretching on Jingle Bell slabs In the frosty lab What a bright time, it's the right time To count with an aardvark Jingle bell slime is a swell time To go sciencing with Annie and STEM Spark Alright now that that is out of my system, we recently did a holiday twist on classic slime by adding jingle bells, glitter and glitter stickers to the classic slime recipe listed below (hey

Hello! So I've already reviewed magnetic building blocks/magnetic tiles on this post, but I feel like this STEM toy is so popular right now that I want to do another giveaway of the magnetic tiles for the holidays. It will make a great gift under the tree! Here's the overall review summary of this toy: "So in summary, I'd give this STEM product a 4.5 out 5. Very fun and easy to build with and to learn about different shapes, as well as they come with their own carrying ca

So the second book in the Annie Aardvark series, Adding Ants, is officially released on Amazon ! I really wanted to make an ant pun, but I c an't think of one (yeah that was bad, even I admit)! I wanted to take a moment to thank the lovely bloggers and vloggers who have shared reviews of the book, which you find their reviews here , here , there and here . Also, a huge thank you again to everyone who supported the Kickstarter campaign for the book! I hope you are enjoyi

Thanksgiving is upon US (United States that is), and that also means Black Friday shopping and gift giving to kids at various holiday events. And if you're looking for a small gift for kids, I'd like suggest a book instead of toy, and in particular, a book that has a STEM component it. We are after all about the STEM, about that STEM, about that STEM over here on STEM Spark, so admittedly I think we all knew I where I was going with this STEM books for the holidays thing.

For US Thanksgiving, I put together a printable Turkey Tangram! Our kiddo loves doing tangram puzzles at his preschool, and when I saw the turkey one at school, I knew I had to make one for STEM Spark! It's a great Thanksgiving STEM activity, and if you're looking for more, check out my Fall STEM Activities board here . Happy Thanksgiving, gobble, gobble! Click here to download the tangram file or head on over to the STEM Spark shop !

The winter holidays are right around the corner, so that means we'll be doing a lot of STEM toy and product reviews here at STEM Spark. And a lot of giveaways! So make sure you are following STEM Spark closely for the next month. First review and giveaway for the holidays is Builder Barbie! Here's a reminder of the questions I use for my reviews (although I may be doing shorter answers to these questions so I can do more reviews for the month, so that I can do more giveaway