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1 Aug · Matt Bowman · No Comments

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2014 Lego Mindstorms: A Comparison

We are excited to present a new guest blogger to our site. Arnaav is our youngest contributor. At age 10, he is brimming with ideas and writes about anything that interests his peer group. Arnaav’s first blog compares Lego Mindstorms 2.0 and EV3. Enjoy! Arnaav’s Blog: Lego Mindstorms 2.0 vs Lego Mindstorms EV3: Hi! Today …

22 Jun · Matt Bowman · No Comments

The Adventures of Captain EnergyPants

Raleigh NC, 6/22/2014 – Captain EnergyPants made an impressive debut at STEM For Kids camp last week. EnergyPants took campers on an amazing journey of discovering energy. Children applied the engineering design process to design their own catapults and engaged in a friendly catapult war. Afterwards, they collaborated to design and build roller coasters to …

11 Aug · Matt Bowman · 100 Comments

SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 2013 On Mission: Making STEM fun and real

Thank you, it was a very fun and educational camp”, said a 3rd grade student. The best part about STEM For Kids’ programs is “getting the students to finally think critically pertaining to real world situations.“, a K-8 public school teacher in North Carolina. “… campers left with a better appreciation of the structures around …

23 Jul · Matt Bowman · No Comments

TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2013 NASA Ambassador to talk to robotics campers

At STEM for Kids we strive to engage campers in the various applications of STEM while giving them a unique, industry perspective. Thanks to the to NASA Solar System Ambassador program, we are able to go above and beyond our normal business mindset. Raleigh’s new 2013 Ambassador, Marc Fusco will be coming to STEM for …

9 Jul · Matt Bowman · 53 Comments

July 9th, 2013 Life of a STEM Coach: Building more than just bridges

Trey Ferguson, STEM Coach As we have hit the ground running this summer, I had suggested SFK start a STEM Coach blog posting. This could be a way for parents to get a brief recap of the topics covered in their child’s week while also getting some feedback and opinion from the coaches. This week …

9 Jun · Matt Bowman · One Comment

SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2013 Congress, Cool Air and Computer Science for K-5

“If you want to work in an air-conditioned environment, computer science is the way to go.” I got this advice when I was deciding on an engineering field of study among the many possible choices, Civil, Mechanical, Industrial, etc. It was enticing for someone living in the 120 degrees Fahrenheit scorching heat of Delhi without …

19 May · Matt Bowman · No Comments

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013 The Big Bang Theory of STEM …

A recent episode of the Big Bang Theory got me thinking about the impact of childhood experiences in Science and Technology. The main characters, Leonard and Sheldon are brilliant physicists, the kind of “beautiful minds” that understand how the universe works. In this particular episode they meet Professor Proton. They grew up watching Professor Proton’s …

21 Oct · Matt Bowman · No Comments

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2012 STEM: Taking Matrix’ Red Pill

From agriculture to industrialization to the Information Age, mankind has made a fascinating journey of innovation. What leads to such innovations? Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in his Pulitzer Prize winner book Guns, Germs and Steel makes the case that a civilization is not created out …

9 Sep · Matt Bowman · No Comments

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012 The Go Fish Experiment … two kids seek your feedback

A 2nd grader and a 3rd grader play a game of Go Fish. They end the game with inspiration for an experiment. As you may know, in the game of Go Fish, players must give their cards to others when asked for it. While they had played this game several times before, this time something new happened. …

7 Sep · Matt Bowman · No Comments

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012 Meet your child’s first teacher … you.

In this special “back to school” edition, I want to start at home. Parents are children’s first teachers and even when school starts, that role continues. The colors of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) need the canvas of 3 Cs (Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Communication) and a student who is well grounded with the …

26 Aug · Matt Bowman · No Comments

The chains of habits …

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2012 I learned something pretty young even though it took me many years to fully understand it. Growing up, when I was in elementary school, students took turn to present news headlines and a thought of the day every morning during assembly. My first experience standing with a microphone on a podium …

17 Aug · Matt Bowman · No Comments

First things first … back to basics

FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2012 Some interesting discussions with academia took me back to an important foundational question … what is STEM? The letters in the acronym STEM tell us part of the story – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. However, the 21st century skills that our children need are something more than just this simplistic …

12 Aug · Matt Bowman · No Comments

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012 Thinking about thinking …

2nd grade camper in one of our camps asked: “Why plan, can’t we just build?”. This question triggered a thoughtful discussion among STEM educators, professionals and entrepreneurs around the globe. If you have been through our program, you know that we work on ways to help children think like engineers. So, let me take a …

7 May · Matt Bowman · 98 Comments

MONDAY, MAY 7, 2012 Can Earth get sucked into a Blackhole?

In our last Aerospace camp, as we were exploring space and Blackhole, a child asked me that question. A Black hole is created in our universe when a massive star dies; a star 5 – 30 times the mass of our Sun. Black hole has such an immense pull of gravity that nothing escapes …

28 Apr · Matt Bowman · 105 Comments

SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012 STEM, James Cameron, Larry Page and trash …

Recently, I had the opportunity to see the Apollo 12 Command Module at the NASA Langley Air and Space Museum. What a great engineering creation and an outstanding memorabilia of the Space race of the 1960s. The space race started as a competition between the USA and Soviet Union and eventually turned into a collaboration …

14 Apr · Matt Bowman · 57 Comments

April 14, 2012 STEM for kids … but what is STEM?

For most of us, when we think of stem, we think of a plant stem … a connecting or supporting part of a plant. Think closely about the support that a stem provides to a plant. Just like that stem, the acronym STEM (our focus area for this post), is an important support for our …

7 Apr · Matt Bowman · No Comments

April 7, 2012 STEM Programs, engineering for kids, STEAM, computing for kids

US Competitiveness report released in January underscores the need for STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) education for our children. But the question is … how soon should the children be given the opportunity to explore STEM? Could elementary age children benefit from STEM enrichment? The answer is yes because as we have seen as …