STEM Ideas from the Lunar and Planetary Institute

The Lunar and Planetary Institute is a really cool place. They are the swell folks that lend out their planetarium. I got to go to a training there last month to try out some STEM ideas with their education coordinator. Here are some cool things from LPI that you could do at your library for STEM programs, including Star Parties!

UV Kid
Mess level: 1
Materials needed: Chenille stems, UV beads, regular pony beads, assorted scraps of tissue paper, aluminum foil, etc (optional: sunscreen)
Basics: Make a person/animal/creature out of chenille stems, decorating with UV beads and regular beads. Take your creation into the light and watch the UV beads change colors. Then create some sort of sun protection out of the scrap materials. Then take your creation back out into the sunlight and see how well you did.

Oreo Moon Phases
Mess level: 4
Materials needed: 6 oreos per kid, paper towels, plastic cutlery, printed calendar
Basics: Subtract frosting from oreos to model moon phases. Place them on a calendar of the current month to show when the phases will be visible.
Note: Here is the PDF of the calendar we used. You’ll have to make your own or do some editing since it’s for December 2017.

Make a comet

Mess level: 10
Materials needed: 5 pounds of dry ice (purchased the day of or the day before the activity and stored well-wrapped in a freezer before use), Mallet, Eye protection, Thick work gloves or insulated rubber gloves, Plastic bowl (large), Paper or cloth grocery bag, 13 gallon garbage bag, Pie pan or flat tray, 1 cup of sand or soil, Dash of ammonia, Dash of organic materials, such as rubbing alcohol or corn syrup, Strong flashlight, (Optional) a printed image of a comet, (Optional) tools for making additional observations, such as magnifying glasses, cameras, scales, an ear thermometer, or infrared thermal cameras that work with smartphones and tablets (such as a Seek Thermal Compact camera).
Basics: Make a comet by mixing fragments of dry ice with sand and water. This is definitely the most involved activity. If you have a larger group, I would recommend having several staff on hand helping to make the comets. Dry ice is something that we have to be really careful with, so please take every safety precaution in the directions. You could also do this as a demonstration.

- Angela @ COL