Hosting a STEM + Families event brings together students and their families to participate in shared, hands-on science activities that encourage interest in science, technology, engineering and math.

Minnesota PTA has STEM kits available for checkout which provide supplies and a checklist for the following activities. Your PTA may choose to do some or all of the available activities at your event. Please read through the following materials to better understand what is involved for each activity.

Alka Rockets (Demonstration Only)

How it Works: We are combining a solid (antacid) with a liquid (water) to observe how they mix together and produce a gas (carbon dioxide). The gas pressure builds up in the film canister until it blows the canister apart from the lid, which is how the rocket gets launched in the air. Antacid tablets like Alka-Seltzer are made up of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate that react to form carbon dioxide when dissolved in water.

Are You an Acid or a Base?

Help students mix water, vinegar and red cabbage juice in a color-changing science activity.

How It Works: In this activity, we are using the red cabbage water as an acid-base indicator. Red cabbage contains anthocyanin or pigment molecules. They will change their color depending on the pH of their environment. When added to very acidic solutions (the vinegar cup), the red cabbage water will turn a pinkish-red color. Cabbage water and neutral solutions (the water cup) result in a bluish-purple color. Cabbage water and basic solutions (the baking soda cup) appear greenish-blue.

Balloon Skewers

Balloon Skewers - Help students push a wooden skewer through an inflated balloon without popping the balloon.

How It Works: Balloons are made out of thin sheets of rubber or latex. The material is stretchy because of its elasticity. When the balloon is blown up, the middle area of the balloon stretches more than the ends. A sharp, lubricated point can be pushed through the material at the ends because the rubber or latex can stretch around it. A sharp, lubricated point pushed through the side of the balloon will pop the balloon because in those areas, the material is already stretched.

Bow Tie and Butterfly Chromatography

Bow Tie and Butterfly Chromatography - Help students color coffee filters and spray water to carry the ink into patterns.

How It Works: Coffee filters are a special type of paper that absorbs water easily. The different chemicals (colored inks) in the markers are soluble, or dissolve, in water. When water soaks into the paper, the colors dissolve.

Bubbling Lava Lamp

Bubbling Lava Lamp – Help students make a lava lamp in a juice bottle using oil, water, food coloring and fizzy tablets.

How It Works: Oil and water do not mix because of intermolecular polarity. The oil and water separate in the bottle, with oil on top because it has a lower density than water. The food coloring falls through the oil and mixes with the water at the bottom.

Sticky Icky Slime

Sticky Icky Slime – Help students make slime using glue and liquid starch.

How It Works: The glue contains chains of molecules, called “polymers,” which move relatively freely as a liquid. When the liquid starch is added, it acts as a “cross-linker,” binding the polymer chains together and restricting their movement.

Tornado in a Bottle (Demonstration Only)

Tornado in a Bottle – Demonstrate vortex motion and centripetal force using soda bottles, water and a special connector

How It Works: Gravity is the force that pulls the liquid into the hole. The water spins around the center of the vortex very quickly because of the centripetal force. Centripetal force directs the water towards the center of its circular path.

STEM Activity Event Planning

A STEM + Families event brings together students and their parents/caregivers to participate in shared, hands-on science activities that encourage interest in science, technology, engineering and math. To help our local PTAs host a STEM + Families event, the Minnesota PTA has STEM kits that provide supplies for the following activities and a checklist to plan a STEM + Families event. A local unit may choose to do only some or all of the available activities at their event.

Science Activities.

Alka Rockets (Demonstration activity only)
Are You an Acid or a Base
Balloon Skewers
Bow Tie and Butterfly Chromatography
Bubbling Lava Lamp
Sticky Icky Slime
Tornado in a Bottle (Demonstration activity only)

At the STEM + Families event, volunteers staff each activity table to guide students and families through the activity and ensure they have the correct supplies and equipment to complete the STEM activity. Most of the science activities are set up so that students and their parents/caregivers interact while performing the activity. Two activities are Demonstration only, meaning you will need to get one or more volunteers to demonstrate these Activities at your event; these activities are not designed to be completed by the students.

Materials Available from the Minnesota PTA

STEM Kits for Checkout - Each activity has a STEM kit in a bin for checkout. The STEM kit provides reusable equipment for the activity. All the reusable equipment must be cleaned after the event and returned to Minnesota PTA in the bin.

Documentation - Local PTAs are provided with access to a Google Drive with shopping lists and cost estimates of consumable supplies to be purchased by the local PTA, activity setup and cleanup instructions for volunteers, step-by-step instructions for each activity, signs for each activity table, and a checklist for planning the overall STEM + Families event. Materials to be Provided by the Local PTA.

STEM KITS - EVENT PLANNING CHECKLIST

Local units should follow the checklist that begins on the next page - major task areas include:

Determine Event Date and Location, Activities Planned, and Budget
STEM Kit Reservation and Pickup and Access to Event Documentation
Event Preparation - Before the Event
Setup on the Event Date
Clean Up on the Event Date
STEM Kit Return to MNPTA

Each local PTA unit will have to purchase the consumable supplies for the event. These consumable supplies are used by each person who completes the activity during the event. The cost of consumables for each activity is determined by the number of students you estimate will be attending your event. The chart below provides the cost of consumables per STEM activity. Using the number of students you estimate will be attending your event to estimate your cost of consumables.

Ready to host a STEM + Families event?

Contact the Minnesota PTA at mnpta@mnpta.org for information on how to checkout the STEM Kits and to get access to the full event checklist and activity documentation.

Click here ↑ to get more information & STEM resources.

National PTA's STEM + Families® program delivers access and hands-on exposure to science, technology, engineering and math to engage families and inspire students to pursue career opportunities in STEM fields.

PTA’s vision is that all students have the family and community support needed to access and pursue STEM opportunities and careers.

We want to foster passion for science, technology, engineering, and math through fun activities and by involving families in these experiences together. Our STEM initiative will engage students, families, and communities in opportunities to explore... inspire... empower... and educate... STEM possibilities.

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