When it comes to incorporating circuitry basics in STEM education, there are surprisingly a lot of options. Regardless of the grade levels you teach, there are plenty of opportunities for kids to explore electronics. Not only that, but it's super easy to incorporate circuitry concepts in creative ways throughout the curriculum. Whether in your general classroom, STEAM-focused lesson plans, or afterschool makerspace environment, circuitry kits for students help educators illustrate the most important concepts in a hands-on way. Starting in early education, the Squishy Circuits kits help teachers create awesome introductory lessons. Using conductive dough with safe and simple electronics components, kids could build circuits and add them to art projects. Then, they can incorporate more complex hardware as they get older. And, once ready, they can even build programmable circuits and incorporate coding!
A sometimes overlooked area of STEM and maker education, building circuits helps students develop lots of relevant skills. Starting with engineering, the design process is very important in these projects. Students can gain valuable experience in planning a design, implementing the construction plan, and potentially re-evaluating any flaws in that process. From there, they can explore how exactly circuits work as well as their role in powering many common devices. And, when it comes to the various circuitry kits in education, some others besides the Squishy Circuits solutions include the SAM Labs kits, the Bare Conductive kits, E-Blox kits, Snap Circuits kits, and the Makey Makey. Providing benefits for students in every grade, these increasingly involved opportunities help them start to think like scientists.
Each school makerspace is different but, if you’re looking to add hands-on maker tools to yours, we offer a huge variety for K–12 STEAM learning. For this list, we’ve highlighted lots of our most in-demand offerings—from low-tech starter materials to high-end MakerEd machinery. Whether you would rather start small or make your space robust, they work in any situation.
While educators won’t necessarily need official curricula or detailed project guides in makerspaces, these suggestions, however, are great examples of unique maker supplies, including different types of 3D printers, coding kits, electronics tools, and design equipment. So, we’re excited to walk through some less common makerspace tools for creating high-quality learning.
As we close out 2021, some of the Bare Conductive STEAM products will soon be retired. While it’s sad to see them go, we’re happy to continue offering others to the STEAM and maker communities. Among these continued offerings, you’ll find the classic Electric Paint jar and tube, the Interactive Wall Kit, Touch Board for incorporating sensors, and more.
If you’re teaching circuitry and want to get hands-on, Snap Circuits is the perfect entry into building circuits for students eight and older. Students can use these pieces to snap building blocks together to form functional circuits and there are none of the safety risks associated with more advanced wiring. Read on to learn more about the Snap Circuits system.
Though it’s been available to educators and making an impact in many classrooms for some time now, the Code Kit is another perfect example of littleBits bringing circuitry, engineering, and now coding together to provide students with a learning experience that’s as engaging as it is relevant to their futures. Keep reading to learn more about it!
With over 15 specialized kits, littleBits is transforming STEAM education in all grade levels. They feature a progressive approach to hands-on learning, making, and engineering, and encourage kids to creatively explore millions of inventions. The solutions continue to evolve and, now, teachers can combine making and coding in one STEAM experience!
We have presented our November EdTech grant to Charnley DeMeritt, who is a STEM lab teacher at the Oakview Elementary School, which is located in Simpsonville, SC! Part of the Greenville School System, their STEAM lab has evolved into a place where all students can experiment, think critically, and develop both hard and soft skills from their initial failures.
Finding engaging and academically stimulating solutions for students regardless of where they’re learning has become a priority for some and that’s certainly something we can support. In this week’s Tips & Tricks blog, we’re taking a look at two Tech Will Save Us kits that can be leveraged in hybrid learning in the Electro Dough and Gamer kits.
This month, the award goes to Save Our Children Elyria, a big afterschool program in Elyria, Ohio! The group helps support many local K-12 students throughout the Elyria City Schools with various academic and nutritional assistance year round and, since learning has transitioned largely online, they’ve created a virtual makerspace for students!
We recently launched the newest addition to the littleBits line on our store. The littleBits Educator Starter Kit is designed to serve as an entry-level STEAM solution for teachers to gauge the effectiveness of the littleBits platform in their STEAM education initiatives. The kit is very much affordable and ready to use right out of the box.
