Mad Scientist STEAM Family Night

Our Mad Scientist Family Night was a huge success. We didn't have as many kids in attendance due to baseball, but the ones who were there were so excited. We had tons of activities to keep them engaged. One of the best parts was that our annual Grandparents Day was the following day, so several grandparents were joined the students for family night!

We met in four rooms again, but this time I had each room focus on a letter or letters from STEAM. We passed out chemical symbols starting with the letters of the rooms to show each family where to begin their rotation. We met altogether so that I could explain the night and then broke into groups. The families stayed at each room for 15 minutes. Below is the breakdown of each room, with pictures when available. At the end I have included links for the activities or sheets I created. I bought some parts from Carly & Adam, so I could not include those pieces. (They are a terrific resource though!)

Science: 

I purchased two of the coolest microscopes from Amazon. (link below) They have large screens so that the kids don't have to actually look through a scope. I also purchased some pre-made slides. The kids observed what the specimens looked like and then drew them on a worksheet. This was a very successful activity!

We had a center set up with baking soda in divided trays, and the kids had to predict what would happen when different liquids were added. Then they added the liquids and notated if their predictions were right or wrong. 

Another popular activity in this room was geodes. I purchased the medium-sized geodes from Amazon (link below). I also bought rubber mallets based on what I read in the reviews for the geodes. Don't get the mallets. They are not heavy enough. We had to use regular hammers. This activity actually became an outside-on-the-sidewalk activity. I highly recommend it.

I also had a periodic table battleship game set up in here in case there was a wait for the more popular activities. With the smaller attendance, I don't think it was needed, but I do think at least one pair played it. 

Technology:

I got out three Lego robotics kits with a card giving directions for which activity to complete. The grandparents especially liked this! Not to mention the fact that two boys who did this activity with their moms in the final rotation had to be almost physically removed from the library after 7:30. No kidding, we were turning the lights off on them. They did NOT want to leave!

Bee Bot made another appearance. This time he was making his way across the mat and through the solar system.This was a big favorite of the night. 

Engineering:

In this room we had several building kits, a photo op station, and snack. The snack was the most popular item in the room. I bought small plastic test-tubes and filled them with candy eyes, (remember the fish cookies from Dr. Seuss month; these were left over) poprocks, and some koolaid-type candy. We also had H2O to go with the test-tubes.

There was a marble run to set up. The two previously mentioned Lego boys loved the marble run also. There was also a not-as-popular KNEX type building set.

The photo op station consisted of a lab background and some photo op signs. I ordered an Einstein wig and a couple of labcoats, but they did not arrive in time. We'll have them for next year.

In my reflections of the night, I realized that the engineering room needs some hyping up before next year. Ideas are welcome!

Art/Math:

I actually found a couple of good science-related art activities. From Carly & Adam I printed several different "This is Not a..." sheets. These are fun, and the kids enjoyed them.

After much research, I found an agamograph. It is seriously cool. I even found a template to make it a little easier for the kids. The template was free, so I've linked it below.

There was an atom-creating activity that involved pipe-cleaners, beads, and pom poms. It was not very popular. 

For math, I put out two different 24 Games. The kids are always challenged by these, and I thought the parents might enjoy them too.

Bits and Pieces:

I made signs for each of the major activities and added a QR code on the signs so that they could pull up a site that related to the activity. I got this idea from SSSTeaching. I need to stress the codes more next year because I think that would add an important technological element.

From Carly & Adam I got the idea of a badge with a mad scientist name. I actually created my own badges on Canva and used the kids pictures for their badges. 

Below are the freebies. Enjoy!

Agamograph Flower Picture                      Agamograph Blank Template

Mad Scientist Night Invitation                   Signs for Activities

More Activity Signs                                   Task Cards for Solar System Bee Bot Mat

Bee Bot Solar System Mat Cards

Geodes from Amazon Link

Microscope from Amazon Link

I hope that some of this is helpful. These family nights have been the most fun, and I am already thinking about how I can improve them next year. Let me know if you have any ideas! I'm still lovin' it in the library!!