CSA Resources

Are you looking for something to do with your kids “right now” and don’t want to bother with a lot of searching or bothersome ads? We’ve made it easy! Try our new EASY BUTTON activities!
STEM Pick of the WEEK Each week our Executive Director, Craig Adams, highlights a STEM resource on social media and our website. Prior "picks" are also listed on our calendar each Monday.

Summer STEAM is a 5 day camp where students learn to design, build and code their own robotic device.  Using a microbit and recycled electronic materials, students construct a remote control robot complete with sound, light, and moving parts.

Our plans are to resume this camp as soon as the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
STEMettes was sponsored by the Columbia STEM Alliance in collaboration with Mizzou Engineering and Columbia Public Schools. From June 24-28 2019, 25 girls from grades six through eight participated in this camp, which included a bevy of classes, presentations and activities intended to spark their interest in STEM, particularly engineering. Our plans are to resume this camp as soon as the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

Resources for Learning from Home

TINKERCAD linkTinkercad is a free, easy-to-use app for 3D design, electronics, and coding. It’s used by teachers, kids, hobbyists, and designers to imagine, design, and make anything!

Imagineering fans, get ready! If you’ve ever been one of many guests who’s visited a Disney theme park and found yourself inspired to dream, build and create, there’s a new online program you just can’t miss! ‘Imagineering in a Box’ is a free online program that brings together the diverse talents of Disney Imagineers around the world for a one-of-a-kind learning experience and is part of Disney’s commitment to helping today’s youth create the future they imagine.
Tinkering with found materials is a natural for makers and Science City’s Maker Studio shares ideas to get you started on Instructables. Check out the Maker Studio Channel to find everything from Shrink Bots to DNA Origami. Science City’s education team also has a series of Instructables to try. Follow Science City’s Facebook page for even more opportunities, including live virtual broadcasts from the Planetarium!
Camp Invention is organized by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, which has collected all kinds of ideas for learning at home, including a virtual visit to the museum and online challenges, plus this PDF guide of DIY STEM activities you can do while at home.

Pitsco Education’s STEM at Home and Code At Home pages feature a number of free resources, lesson plans, blogs and webinars that offer students a variety of ways to continue their learning wherever they are.

Get ready to solve puzzles, uncover clues, and make a PAWsitive difference for animals! Kids age five and up are invited to join the Humane Society of Missouri for an interactive, fun-filled adventure through ten exciting missions. Your Mission: ImPAWsible activity kit comes with ten missions, your official secret agent tools, and lots of great surprises! There is a charge for this curriculum but it's a pretty good deal at $50.

Check out Mission: ImPawsible

National Geographic  Curated collections of learning activities As you enter a back-to-school time like no other, we offer a space to connect, share strategies, and run down a virtual hallway to encourage each other and celebrate the wins. Join in the fun!
Use DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL hands-on activities and videos in classrooms and afterschool programs, in libraries and museums, at events and at home, along with our newest resource DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL CLUBS that connect 10- to 13-year-olds in out-of-school programs around the world.

Resources for Coding

Find new online and offline activities for varying experience levels. Each week Girls Who Code is releasing new activities and highlighting women in tech who pioneered innovative technology.

Check out Girls Who Code

Scratch is a block-based visual programming language and online community targeted primarily at children. Users of the site can create online projects using a block-like interface. The service is developed by the MIT Media Lab, has been translated into 70+ languages.
Code.org  organizes the annual Hour of Code campaign which has engaged 15% of all students in the world. Code.org is supported by generous donors including Amazon, Facebook, Google, the Infosys Foundation, Microsoft, and many more.

micro:bit is a tiny programmable computer, designed to make learning and teaching easy and fun! It’s  a handheld, programmable micro-computer that can be used for all sorts of cool creations, from robots to musical instruments – the possibilities are endless.

EarSketch helps you learn coding through music. Use sounds from the EarSketch library or your own sounds, along with Python or JavaScript code, to produce studio quality music.

Local Resources

STEAM Kits provide hands-on learning experiences for kids with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts and math. The recommended ages are based on the complexity of the kit, and we encourage parents and children to explore our STEAM Kits together.
"Covid-19 has really impacted ALL of our lives. For the STEM Alliance, it’s impacted how we interact with students. One way we’ve decided to counter this is to build “kits” of materials and provide both pre-recorded (Youtube) videos as well as online meetings (Google and Zoom) for kids and parents to experience what we once would have done face to face."
Mike Szydlowski, CPS Science Coordinator has put together some great STEM related field trip opportunities.
STEM Cubs is a free engineering day camp that serves students in grades K-5 on the University of Missouri’s campus at the College of Engineering. The program emphasizes the importance of exploratory and experiential learning. Most importantly, STEM Cubs seeks to engage elementary-aged students from underrepresented and STEM Cubs group photolow-income backgrounds in activities related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
"Recent research shows that increases in arts educational experiences across dance, music and the visual arts, improve students’ academic, social and emotional outcomes while increasing empathy and college aspirations. Adults who participate in the arts show increased civic engagement and tolerance. Art is transformative fun!"

Visit Jabberwockys Site!

Stormwater Education Website
Lab Space Robotics  Lab Space is located in the Capital Mall in Jefferson City.  They advertise as " A Maker Space for Kids and Families".  Their site is full of helpful "at Home" links with activities that can be easily downloaded.   They also offer online classes in several STEM areas.

Searchable STEAM Sites

Instructables is committed to helping teachers inspire, engage, and prepare students through hands-on projects to make in the classroom. Always free, and always fun, come explore projects for your next classroom (or home) lesson!

Try Instructables for Teachers

2020-backpack-jiji-logoThe Mind Research Institute’s ST Math program offers free access to online puzzles and games through June 30, 2020. Designed for PreK-8th grade students, ST Math starts by teaching the foundational concepts visually, then connects the ideas to the symbols and language. With visual learning, students are better equipped to tackle unfamiliar math problems, recognize patterns, and build conceptual understanding.

Check out ST Math

Wide Open School helps families and educators find trusted resources to enrich and support distance learning. Every day students can access free, high-quality learning activities across subjects, all in one place. More than 75 partners and supporters have come together to meet the change in learning needs of students, teachers, and families due to the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.nasa.gov/stem My friend Julie Nichols sent me this resource to add to our Columbia STEM Alliance page. I thought I’d share it today as my Activity of the Day! Of course NASA would have put this together. It’s amazing and full of great activities for kids to do at home! Give it a try!