STEM fields and degrees are more important than ever in the United States. There are 1.2 million job openings projected in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields by the year 2022. As technology continues to grow by leaps and bounds, more and more jobs will open up in the field.
One of the best ways to make sure we have enough people to fill these new jobs is by getting a kids interested in STEM early, and keeping that interest going. Luckily for new parents like me, there are plenty of ways to do that. Even better, many easy activities can help introduce a love of science, technology, engineering, and math to your child. Here are a few suggestions.
1. Visit a farm
There are some surprising career choices in the STEM field. Some of these choices? Dairy science, poultry science, sustainable agriculture, and animal management. All kids love animals, so introduce them to the fields of animal science and food science by visiting a farm. Get to know animals, see where and how your food is grown, and talk to the people who make sure America is fed. There are plenty of hands-on activities to try, so find a farm with a petting zoo or a pick-your-own produce area.
2. Get digging
Geology and paleontology are STEM fields. If you’re kid loves rocks and dinosaurs, this could be the field for them. Start a rock collection and research the rocks you’re finding, or visit a dinosaur exhibit at a local museum. Supplement this with lots of books about when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and you’re good to go!
3. Look at the stars
Yep, astronomy and aerospace engineering fall under the STEM umbrella, too. Visit a planetarium in your area, or get outside and look at the stars. For best results, try to get away from sources of artificial lights and pick a clear night for your star-gazing. If you’re lucky, you can watch a shooting star, then explain how it’s not actually a star at all. Keep the learning going by identifying constellations, planets, and phases of the moon.
4. Make a chemical reaction
Inspire your budding chemist with easy science experiments you can do at home. Since chemistry is a science, it’s an in demand career. Start off with the classic baking soda and vinegar volcano to explain chemical reactions. If that interests your child, you can find plenty more easy chemical reaction experiments across the Internet. Pick a few and get started learning!
5. Start coding
Introduce your children to coding at an early age with Fisher-Price’s new Code-a-Pillar. From their new line of Think and Learn toys, which are designed to foster problem-solving and creativity in children. The Code-a-Pillar is a fun way to introduce your kids to the basics of coding. The toy comes with a caterpillar head, 8 caterpillar segments, and 2 directional targets. Each of the segments is a basic “command” for the Code-a-Pillar, such as “go straight,” “turn left,” or “make a sound.” The directional targets can be set up around the room for your children to aim the Code-a-Pillar at. Although the basic Code-a-Pillar offers plenty of coding fun, you can also buy expansion packs for your Code-a-Pillar for even more ways to play. The Code-a-Pillar is aimed at preschool age children (3-6 years), and requires 4 AA batteries. It retails for $50. Expansion packs retail for $15 each.
Introducing children to problem solving, coding, and cause-and-effect, the Fisher Price Code-a-Pillar is a great way to make learning fun. Although my baby is currently too small to use it, I borrowed two tech-obsessed boys from a friend to try it out. They both enjoyed making the Code-a-Pillar go in different directions, as did my husband. Although it is aimed at preschoolers, it can clearly be enjoyed by older children as well. We made a video here.
Remember, the off switch for the Code-a-Pillar is on the bottom of the toy, and it will continue to make noise until the switch is turned off.
How do you get your children interested in learning?
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This is a great way to introduce my 4 year old to STEM. My 11 year old is big into STEM but I love that they had a version that the littlest can learn.
These are all great ideas on introducing kids to STEM activities!! I will definitely be passing this post off to my mommy friends!!
This is indeed a great list of activities to introduce STEM activities to children. Looking at stars and doing science products with the chemical reactions was what my kids always liked when they were little.Thanks for sharing these activities.
I like that coding caterpillar. What a fun idea for the kids!
Both my kids are into STEM. We always took them to interactive museums and did science at home when they were little. Maybe that stimulated their interest!
Great post. I would love to get that Code a pillar for my kiddos. They would love it.
These are all great ideas for STEM introduction. I love the Code-a-pillar. You can never start learning these things too early!
It is never too early to get your child learning about science, math, and technology. i love Fischer Price toys. I have already picked up a couple for my grandson to be.
I wish they had all of these cool STEM related toys when my boys were younger!
Whoa, that is a pretty cool “toy”! I don’t remember ever hearing the term STEM when my kids were little, but I’m seeing it all over the place now. Great ideas.
Experiments at home are favorite ways to interest the kids. I think I’d like a Codeapillar of my own.
Oh, this is very nice. This is very useful for raising my son, I will try this soon.
I really want to visit a farm with my kiddos! They’ve never been on one and I want them to be able to experience that. I never thought it would fit in with STEM.
i know my friends kiddies would love STEM…I will def have to share this information.
I lived on a farm growing up and it truly taught me a lot more than just taking care of animals.
These are some great ideas! My two younger kids love STE, we’re still working on the “M” though.
Introducing children to problem solving, coding, and cause-and-effect at a young age is always a great idea! It’s so important to get kids interesting in learning.
These are some great ideas! I will have to show this to my boyfriend. He loves doing some science stuff with the kids.
These are awesome ideas. Introducing STEM concepts early is so important. Coding is becoming more and more important.
These STEM related toys for young children look wonderful. I appreciate companies trying to steer focus in such an important direction.
What a great list of ways to introduce STEM activities to children. I Love the ideas, STEM toys are super great to help educate kids in a FUN way!
I love this. I’ve written two post just this week on STEM learning. It’s wonderful and needed for the future!!
I’m always trying to introduce my kids to science and math. I enjoy it and I love teaching it to them. This is a great overview of ways to introduce the subjects. That caterpillar sounds cool!
We are a STEM family for sure! As a home educating mom, I love to see toys that stimulate play and learning all at once.
I’ve not heard of Stem Activities before but how cool do they sound 🙂 x
This is a great list! My daughter is in a STEM school and she is just thriving there.
I think it’s so important to get the kids interested in STEM. It’s the future of everything, and they need to be on that train.
I think this would be a hit with my nieces and nephews. What a great way to introduce their minds to something new and engage their interests in different areas.
I think my son would love STEM! He loves science and he loves math, so we are always trying to do something along those lines.
This looks great. What a helpful and fun way to introduce concepts to young children!
Absolutely! STEM is so important for kids these days and I love these ways to introduce it.
My boys both LOVE STEM activities. I got them a cool book of science experiments done with candy, so we can’t wait to get started.