STEM Family Nights

We are proud of the STEM outreach program we have designed specifically for our local elementary schools. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Our goal is to provide hands-on learning as students imagine, create, dream, explore, and discover together at STEM Family Nights. Through many generous grants from Idaho STEM Action Center, the DART Foundation, Pioneer Federal Credit Union, and Twin Falls Rotary Club, we created a rich educational learning experience with eight mobile exhibits.

The exhibits showcased were new experiences for children that cannot always be easily replicated at home or school. A children’s museum has the unique ability to bring experiences at a larger than life scale! STEM nights allowed us to give the community a small taste of what the museum will be. 

Get Creative with Coding – Build hands-on, screen-free coding skills with our OzoBots, Code & Go Mouse Bots, and KIBO. Debug plastic bugs from a “code,” Ask about our favorite edible activity that gets families moving, laughing and learning about coding. Sponsored by Idaho STEM Action Center

Literacy Connection – We love to connect literacy & STEM! Can you construct a home for the three little pigs that can withstand the puff of the Big Bad Wolf? Try squeezing the entire alphabet onto your own colorful block tree before it falls down…Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom!

What Can You Rigamajig? – Powered by your brain, this collection of wooden planks, wheels, pulleys, nuts, bolts and rope gives you the tools to build whatever you can dream up! Think three dimensionally, create physically, and work collaboratively. Sponsored by DART Foundation

Marvelous Magnets –  Explore magnetism through investigations with magnetic/non-magnetic materials, build with over 700 Magnatiles, see the pull of the magnetic field with captivating Ferrofluid, explore with Hematite stones. Sponsored by Idaho STEM Action Center

Making Waves – Dive into the science of sound waves as you complete five vibration investigations, make music, and capture and evaluate waveforms with two of our Vernier GoDirect Sound Sensors.

Imagination Playground – 105 Imagination Playground blocks bring the engineering benefits of block play on a larger-than-life scale. Includes bricks, cylinders, chutes, channels and more. (Requires 250 sqft of space) Sponsored by Twin Falls Rotary Club

Your Body: Inside Out – Learn about hearts and blood types through hands-on experiments, Orb Water Bead “Blood Cell” sensory bins, and models. Take a peek inside your body with our virtual reality t-shirt.

Bank & Farmer’s Market (add on) – Our Bank & Farmer’s Market is a hands-on role-playing exhibit that helps kids understand the principles of earning, spending, and saving money. Sponsored by Pioneer Federal Credit Union

We enjoyed setting up our STEM Family Night events at Gooding Elementary, Declo Elementary, Bickel Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Kimberly Elementary, and Sawtooth Elementary. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, our last 3 events at Hollister Elementary, Jefferson Elementary and Rock Creek Elementary were postponed. We gave our program a COVID-19 revamp and will test out an outdoor, social-but-distant version this fall.

As you can see from the pictures, the children didn’t need to be told twice to get to work doing what kids do best!