Start Here: Easy Launch It STEM Activities
One thing I hear often is that members love having so many activities available, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. So I’m going to begin adding more simple “Start Here” guides inside the membership to help you quickly find activities that work well together.
If your kids love things that fly, launch, zoom, or race across the room, these are some of my favorite low-prep STEM activities to start with!
These work especially well for:
- Grades 2–5
- STEM clubs
- Fast Friday activities
- Summer learning
- Indoor recess STEM
- Early finishers
- Family STEM nights
Start with These 3 Activities
Hoop Glider – Coming Soon
A simple engineering activity that explores balance, lift, and flight. This one is always surprising because it flies much better than kids expect using only paper and a straw.
Concepts explored:
- lift
- air resistance
- stability
- simple engineering design
Balloon Rocket
One of the easiest ways to demonstrate force and motion using simple supplies. Kids love testing how far and fast different balloon sizes travel.
Concepts explored:
- thrust
- force and motion
- air pressure
- variables
Straw Rocket Launcher
A great activity for testing launch angles, rocket size, and design changes. This is an easy setup that can become a full investigation challenge.
Concepts explored:
- trajectory
- launch force
- aerodynamics
- engineering design
Supplies You’ll Use Often
These are worth keeping together in a small STEM bin:
- balloons
- straws
- masking tape
- index cards
- paper
- scissors
- string
- rulers
Easy Extension Ideas
Once kids finish the basic builds, try:
- longest flight challenge
- most accurate launch
- slowest glider challenge
- highest launch challenge
- payload challenge
- redesign challenge
Teacher Tip
You do not need to overcomplicate these activities to make them educational. Simply having kids test, observe, redesign, and compare results builds valuable problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
I’ll continue adding more organized member guides like this throughout the year to help you quickly find activities that work well together and make planning easier.