STEM Maker Kits for the Curious Classroom
If you’re a K-12 educator struggling to engage students in STEM learning, Parametric Studio has a number of kits to inspire your classroom. These kits will help your students build critical thinking skills and learn important scientific concepts.
Clock
The clock maker kit contains all the tools and materials needed to create three different types of timepieces: a shadow clock, a mechanical gear clock, and an hourglass. Your students will learn about how each piece is made and what tools are needed to make each type of clock. With a close-up look at how each piece is made, they will learn more about the technology behind each timepiece.
This kit makes a perfect project for the beginning of the school year. Students will enjoy learning to make the clock and feel a sense of accomplishment! Throughout the year, they will remember those lessons as they use the clock to keep track of time during class.
Music Box
Students of all ages will love making a working music box with this kit. By combining music and science, you’ll connect STEM learning to your students’ interests. The kit includes all the materials and tools needed to make a working music box.
The music box plays music when you turn the handle on the box. The handle rotates the gears, which slide a piece of wood with pegs across the steel bars, creating sounds. Students will learn how gears work by moving the pegs to different positions on the wood bar.
Spirograph
The spirograph is a classic toy with lasting learning applications. The spirograph maker kit contains tools your students can use to make a variety of different patterns and designs. Although this activity is a lot of fun, it also teaches valuable math lessons.
Your students’ designs will depend on the radius of their fixed disc, the radius of their revolving disk, and the location of their pen on that revolving disk. Through trial and error, students will learn how manipulating those variables can create different patterns.
Guitar
This is another great kit to connect science and music, making it a great way to engage students who enjoy music but struggle with STEM material. The realistic guitar is created by combining a series of gears and screws. Once the neck of the guitar is built, strings can be added to the guitar to make real musical sounds.
Students will learn everything they need to know about how a guitar works while learning valuable problem-solving skills.
Xylophone
With the xylophone kit, students will learn to assemble and arrange their xylophone to create a number of different configurations. They will learn about how different length bars produce different sounds.
While xylophones were originally made from wood, this kit combines wood components with metal bars, producing a strong set of sounds. Because xylophones are often used to make sound effects, building the xylophone creates an opportunity to share some behind-the-scenes information about how recorded sounds are produced.
Launcher
The launcher kit is a great way to give your students a hands-on lesson about Newtonian physics. The wood structure uses rubber bands and wood components to launch small, plastic balls across great distances!
This fun device can help your students learn about force and motion. Once students understand how the device works, you can challenge them to use those concepts to create other fun projects in the classroom.
Ramp & Track
The ramp and track kit comes with everything your students need to make their own ramps. The metal wire ramps are supported by wooden support structures. Balls are dropped in a wooden launching pad at the top of the ramp before making their way down the wire ramp.
Students can learn about gravity and build some basic engineering skills with this fun kit. They can make changes to the wire ramps to make different courses for the balls to traverse. This activity promotes skills in math and engineering while encouraging creativity and communication between students.
Metronome
This kit contains all the gears, screws, and other materials needed to assemble a working metronome. Students can explore a number of STEM concepts while building and using this metronome. By adjusting the weight of the bottle and the length of the metronome’s pendulum, they can adjust the speed of the metronome.
One study recently found that students who learn how to keep a beat improve their reading and language skills. This rhythmic device can help your students improve their skills in a wide range of areas. As an added bonus, some studies have shown that studying with a metronome is known to boost memory. Have your students experiment with the class metronome to learn other interesting uses for this tool!
Conveyer Belt
The conveyer belt kit contains everything your students need to create a working conveyor belt. It also contains a ball for students to move along the belt, so students can test their conveyor belt out.
This conveyer belt kit allows students to build an adjustable conveyor built, so a few quick gear adjustments allow students to change the angle of the device. This project will teach students about basic engineering design and how conveyor belts work in many manufacturing facilities. It will also give them tools they can apply to other engineering projects.
Conclusion
Hands-on activities are one of the most meaningful ways to encourage STEM learning for your students. Our engineering-centric kits can help your students engage in critical thinking while learning key STEM concepts. By providing projects that cater to their interests, you can even engage your most reluctant students in STEM learning!
