Using a few office supplies and recyclables, we can simulate the physics required to land on the Moon. So here’s this week’s STEM challenge: using three index cards, two pieces of cardboard (each about 4 inches by 5 inches), some tape, and a small cup (you can make this yourself, if necessary), create a landing module that will safely land an astronaut (here, represented by a marshmallow, ping pong ball, or other small, light object) on another planet.

In sci-fi space films and tv shows we often see plants grown for food, research, or décor, and plants are so common in our daily lives that it’s easy to assume that they would be our companions as we explore and live in space. But plants face their own challenges to survival in zero gravity.

This week we’re learning all about life in space, and today we’re talking about one of NASA’s projects aboard the International Space Station: the High Definition Earth Viewing system. Learn about the goals of this experiment, watch it’s live stream, and then try your hand at identifying locations on Earth by how the seen from an astronaut’s point of view!

What are some of the challenges of living in space that astronauts face each time they leave Earth? And what technologies can help make things easier? This week we’re focusing on what it’s like to live in space and some of the problem-solving needed to help us embrace life out there.

You may have heard about astronauts baking cookies in space for the first time earlier this year- that was a very big deal because of the number of challenges those cookies had to overcome. Engineers and scientists worked together to address obstacles related to both zero gravity and living within a confined space.

This week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on optics, light, and the electromagnetic spectrum.

You’ve probably seen a rainbow outside before, and this week, we’re learning why we see rainbows in the sky and challenging you to find as many rainbow-makers as you can!

Last week we talked about the role of pollinators and their importance to plants- now we’ll take a look at how one group of pollinators, bees, sees the world across the spectrum. You can even make your own UV light to help you see what they see!

This week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on optics, light, and the electromagnetic spectrum.

It took scientists a really long time to calculate the speed of light—up until 1676 when Danish astronomer Ole Rømer provided the first calculation, scientists weren’t even sure if the speed of light was a finite number. But a few hundred years later, we can calculate the speed of light using not much more than a microwave oven, a bar of chocolate, and a ruler. Let’s try it for ourselves!

This week’s Distance Learning theme is optics, light, and the electromagnetic spectrum. In this activity, you will learn how water seems to bend light by taking the shortest path through water. First we will learn a little bit more about how light does this, and then we will test it out on our own!

This week’s Distance Learning theme is optics, light, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Today we show you how to split sunlight into all the beautiful colors of the spectrum, with a simple homemade spectroscope! This activity takes just a few minutes, and utilizes common household items. Adult supervision is required—we’ll be cutting cardboard with a craft knife.

This week we’re diving into wavelengths as we focus on optics and spectra. Let’s start off with something that you may have wondered about, the color of the sky. You might think it has something to do with our atmosphere, and you’d be right- it’s a result of of the interaction between our atmosphere and the light from the Sun. But how does it work?

You don’t need to have a green thumb to try out this activity from home! Any kind of lettuce with the base intact will do for this activity. I used romaine, but did some research, and apparently Boston leaf, red leaf and radicchio work well too. This fun project is easy for kids to get involved with and is rewarding for them as they watch the lettuce grow. The best part? The lettuce will be ready to harvest in a few weeks and makes a healthy salad to enjoy!

In honor of National Wildflower Week, this week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on the plant world.

This week, we’re challenging you to flex your creativity! Learn about Earth’s biomes, and then imagine a distant planet and what it’s environment is like, and then create an alien plant that would grow on that planet.

As we look at the evolution and importance of plants this week, let’s focus on some flowering plants that took an interesting step back into the water. Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) includes aquatic grasses- these are plants that grow almost completely in water (one genus produces flowers above the water- the rest have underwater flowers pollinated by water movement!) even though ancestral flowering plants evolved on land.

In honor of National Wildflower Week, this week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on the plant world.

An animal that helps plants cross-pollinate is called a pollinator, and they are an especially important for farming and for the ecosystem as a whole. In New England, the most common pollinators are bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Let’s learn about why plants need pollinators and ways we can make the outside of a home an inviting space for this essential creatures!

Since this week is National Wildflower Week, we’re spending the week looking at the plant world! National Wildflower Week takes place each year during the first full week of May, when wildflowers across the country are in full bloom. This week-long celebration was started by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. The Center uses native plants to restore and create sustainable, beautiful landscapes. Its mission is to inspire the conservation of native plants through gardens, research, education, consulting and outreach programs. In this blog post, we will learn more about the importance of wildflowers and try out a fun activity using some that we discover while exploring outside!

Since this week is National Wildflower Week, we’re spending the week looking at the plant world. First a quick look at the evolution of plants.

Biologists believe that plants evolved from algae between 400 and 500 million years ago. The first plants were bryophytes that did not have vascular tissue- that means that they didn’t have special systems for moving water and nutrients from one part of the plant to another- instead these things moved by osmosis.

Dreaming of summer trips to the beach? This week we’re exploring different aspects of aquatic systems.

We need to give our fish enough weight so that it will sink more into the water of its tank, but not so much that it’s stuck on the bottom. Help your pet fish while learning about neutral buoyancy in this hands-on STEM challenge!

Dreaming of summer trips to the beach? This week we’re exploring different aspects of aquatic systems.

Our oceans provide food, fun, beautiful views- and they’re also a huge part of climate and weather conditions as ocean currents move both water and energy from place to place. Exploring the weather is a topic for another week, but today we’ll look at the factors that help create and direct currents.