Science, technology, engineering, art, and math are all the rage, as well they should be! They open up worlds that have no end in terms of what we can build, create, and discover in them. They inspire a sense of wonder and challenge us to dig deep—there is something so incredibly human about all of it—but where to begin? As Neil Gaiman put it so eloquently, "The challenge becomes, not finding that scarce plant growing in the desert, but finding a specific plant growing in a jungle." There have never been more digital resources at our disposal than we have in this era.
While nothing beats baking for learning how to bake, getting out in the water for learning how to swim, or holding the ball in your hands for learning to play the game, remote learning has seen a huge upswing in the past year and has become part of many children's lives. And while it's true that simply being out in nature is beyond compare for the growth and development of young scientists (you can read more in Carol Black's amazing essay, On the Wildness of Children, or in the incredible biography of George Washington Carver), these apps may help boost your child's intellectual appetite, inspire new interests, and help to clarify concepts in fun and often interactive ways. Ideally, they are springboards, opening up windows in the imagination that were hitherto unnoticed—getting kids out there—not a beginning or an end to STEAM education, but perhaps a place to dabble and explore.
We hope you find something truly useful in our curated list of FREE apps that you can start using today.
Science
"GLOBE Observer invites you to make environmental observations that complement NASA satellite observations to help scientists studying Earth and the global environment. The GLOBE Observer App currently includes four main tools: Clouds, Mosquito, Habitat Mapper, Land Cover, and Trees. "
"Discover Free-Flowing Rivers in Augmented Reality. The WWF Free Rivers augmented reality app puts an entire landscape in your hands. Immerse yourself in its incredible virtual world, where you’ll meet the people and wildlife that live here. Through this in-depth, interactive storytelling experience, learn how wildlife, people and entire landscapes depend on healthy, flowing rivers. Dam the river to see what happens, and then try a sustainable energy mix that keeps the river connected but still satisfies growing energy demands."
SkyView Lite allows kids to "see stars, planets, satellites & constellations day or night, read and explore extended information and graphics about each sky object," and to bring out their inner-astronomer. One bonus is that no WiFi network is required to use SkyView Lite. It's an augmented reality app that "automatically downloads & updates any new sky object trajectory changes."
An at-cost version is also available for $2.79 (plain old SkyView), but the version called SkyView Lite is free!
Chemistry has an interactive periodic table that includes information about every chemical element; simply tap on an element to find more information about that element. "The app contains an interactive solubility chart... finds answers for chemical reactions equations even if the right or left part is unknown... [and] helps you with organic and inorganic chemistry."
"Use the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you. Earn badges for seeing different types of birds, amphibians, plants, and fungi and participate in monthly observation challenges."
Get outside and point the Seek Camera at living things.
Identify wildlife, plants, and fungi and learn about the organisms all around you
Earn badges for observing different types of species and participating in challenges
I tried this out with my cat at home and it really worked! The app was able to identify her species and to provide some information about her, using only the picture I took of her napping! I can't wait to get outside with this—it would be so wonderful to know all the names of all the trees in my neighborhood and find out who is doing all of that singing in my backyard!
Technology
"Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for iPad and Mac that makes learning Swift interactive and fun. It requires no coding knowledge, so it’s perfect for students just starting out. Solve puzzles to master the basics using Swift — a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by the pros to build today’s most popular apps."
"With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) can program their own interactive stories and games. In the process, they learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer."
Engineering
Rube's Lab
"Rube's Lab is a physics puzzle game with an amazing interactive world. Venture into the world where you`ll need to save Rube's Lab from the wiles of Dr. Evil using logic and imagination, items, objects, mechanisms, [and] chain reactions."
"Design your own truss structures! The main goal of Truss Me! is to help students build intuition on how truss structures behave, and to understand how they fail through physics-based simulations. Truss Me! utilizes state-of-the-art simulation techniques used by aerospace, mechanical, and civil engineers to provide the most realistic behavior for your structures."
"In Bridge Constructor, you have to prove yourself as an accomplished master bridge builder. Play 40 different levels, and build bridges over deep valleys, canals, and rivers. Stress tests reveal whether the bridge you build can withstand the daily stress of continual use from cars, trucks, and super-heavy tank trucks."
Art
"Turn your iPhone or iPad into a live kaleidoscope camera and capture beautiful images". KaleidaCam features four kaleidoscope styles to choose from and the ability to rotate, zoom, and share your kaleidoscopic images. You can use the app live or turn still images into your own kaleidoscopic works of art!
Stop Motion Studio is a great way to teach kids about the magic of 'the moving picture.' In the app, you can create your own movies by photographing subjects and making small movements between each frame. Helpful settings in the app make this easier to accomplish, like the onion-skin setting which allows you to see and set the opacity of the last picture you took, and a timer so that the picture-taking is automatic—but you've gotta be quick!
My three assistants* and I spent the weekend experimenting with Stop Motion Studio and it was a blast! We had a great time making a chess game play itself, bringing toys to life, and filming a shell-shocking Mario-Kart race using dinky cars and painter's tape to make the track. There are so many possibilities!
A great book to pair with this activity is Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild (wherein Chief tries to explain claymation to Dog Man). Pilkey's Flip-O-Ramas provide an excellent foundation for understanding the mechanics of the illusion created by stop-motion. Any of Pilkey's Dog Man or Captain Underpants books should have a Flip-O-Rama component, if a copy of Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild is not available.
*my kids
Math
"Amazing pets, epic battles, and... math practice? Kids can earn prizes, go on quests, and play with friends—all while learning math. Content is tailored to every player's strengths and weaknesses. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, and many more skills are embedded into the game."
If you like The Legend of Zelda, the intro to Prodigy may give you a chuckle. It has a lot of Pokémon vibes as well. Math problems are used to levy attacks against enchanted animal opponents and (ultimately) save the academy from the wicked Puppet Master.
"Join math-explorer Emma through more than 100 fun math games on her quest to help her animal friends find a way home!" Animal Math Games for Kids features counting, number recognition, categories, geometry, addition, and subtraction. For Pre-K to Grade 2."
Khan Academy Kids is a "free, fun, educational program with thousands of activities that will inspire a lifetime of learning and discovery for children ages 2-8. Children can learn reading, language, writing, math, social-environmental development, problem-solving skills, and motor development. Open-ended activities and games like drawing, storytelling, and colouring encourage creativity and self-expression. A cast of adorable animal characters will guide children through lessons, and our adaptive learning path will customize their experience to help them master different skills."
I would also highly recommend the YouTube channel, Math Antics. It is very well done and helps to keep kids feeling happy, even if they're a little reticent about mathematics!
For even more STEAM recommendations, check out: https://www.weareteachers.com/steam-apps/
as well as these wonderful books from the Essa Public Library collection:
Stay true,
Victoria
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