#babipurSTEM – Weather
It’s time for a new STEM challenge! We thought we’d have fun in the Summer holidays and do a challenge all about the WEATHER! It might be the middle of a heat wave for most of us but that brings electrical storms, monsoon style downpours and humid temperatures so fierce you’d wish it was Autumn already!
When packing for your Holidays or a day out to the beach be sure to pack your waterproofs and jumpers because you never know what to expect weather wise here in the UK! Don’t forget your suncream too!
Exploring the weather with kids
From a STEM point of view there is lots to explore. You can pick a different theme and talk about what to expect from the sun, wind, rain or snow. You can link it to the seasons and use a calendar as a visual, colours can represent temperature changes for the colder and warmer seasons. There are also loads of fun experiments you can do too!
What makes it rain?
We started off this challenge when it was absolutely pouring down with rain so prompted with the question ‘What Makes It Rain?’ we used Organyc cotton balls and some blue paint mixed with water to show our children exactly how it all works. We used the Klean Kanteen straws to mimic rain droplets and wind. There was water everywhere when we finished so we’re calling that a win!
This is a really easy experiment that can be done with all ages. Keeping it nice and simple it rains because clouds absorb moisture from the air and when once enough is collected it falls down from the sky (thanks to gravity). This activity would be great for those with children who really enjoy a hands on sensory element to their play sessions!
We expanded on this activity with the cotton wool balls and had a look into all the different types of clouds and what their names are. This kept our children entertained all morning trying to match them up with the clouds they could see in the sky.
Storm in a jar and water cycles
For older children you could try the classic ‘storm in a jar’ experiment by adding boiling water to a jar and sealing it condensation forms and drops down from the lid so you can make it rain – this is a particularly good visual for why we get lots of rain after a few days of heat.
Huge thanks to our Buddy Maria for these pictures! We love the water cycle flat lay she created with her children using various Grimms and Grapat open ended wooden toys. This is not just creative but educational too. This is exactly what ‘make learning fun’ is all about!
How do you enter?
All you have to do is post a picture or video on your public Instagram account or in the Babipur Hangout Group on Facebook showing your little ones making learning fun whilst learning about the Weather. Use the tag #babipurSTEM so we can find your entries and on Instagram don’t forget to tag @babipur too!
Multiple entries are always encouraged and we’ll post some STEMspiration for you over the fortnight. The challenge will run for 2 weeks and entries will count from today up to Wednesday 7th August 2019 at 11am. Both the winner and the next challenge will be announced shortly after.
What’s the prize?
This fortnight the prize is the lovely little Plan Toys Weather Dress Up Puzzle and the Organyc Cotton Balls. The puzzle is made from the fabulously robust PlanWood and is a great visual for little ones to learn about the weather, the seasons and the elements, not to mention the appropriate clothing to wear for each one. You can also use the reverse of the puzzle to do crayon rubbings too. The Organyc Cotton Balls are not just to stick in your bathroom but to add to sensory play, arts and crafts or to help your little ones learn all about cloud systems – we think they’d make pretty convincing snow balls too!
We also have an extra special prize for this challenge. The lovely Usborne ‘What Makes It Rain’ book is being kindly gifted to the winner from Grizzly Books – if that wasn’t enough there is a cheeky discount code for Babipurians to use as well; the code GRIZZLYSTEM will get you 10% off your order. You can find Grizzly Books >here<
Make Learning Fun
You can find a blog post >here< explaining the concept of STEM if you’re unfamiliar with the idea. Please feel free to ask us any questions, this challenge is all about having fun whilst exploring a simple theme in an educational way.
We can’t wait to see what you all come up with for this challenge. We love looking through your entries and seeing how you make colourful learning fun with Babipur!
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