Star STEAM Explorers

10/01/2026

The kids experimented with crayons, petroleum jelly, and oil, adding water to see how each one affected the paper. They watched the water form beads and discovered how these materials can create a barrier that keeps water from penetrating. 💦
Then came the best part… they made their own penguins with waterproof feathers and tested them! 🐧❄️

09/30/2026

In our sound engineering class, our musicians explored chimes and discovered how they create sound! 🔔🎵 The kids learned that when metal bars vibrate, they produce the beautiful sounds we hear.
Using chopsticks, metal bars, and fishing wire, they worked step-by-step to create their own chimes and experiment with sound and vibrations. 🎶✨

09/30/2026

🍣✨ A sweet adventure to Japan! 🇯🇵
Our little bakers learned all about sushi and then put their own playful twist on it—creating adorable candy sushi rolls and candy nigiri! 🍬🍣
Learning, creating, and having a whole lot of fun along the way! 💕

09/30/2026

Today, at Nature Explorers, our Mustangs had some special guests! Two firefighters visited and taught the kids about fire safety at home. They also taught them how to safely build and put out a campfire. The kids learned about the fire triangle, which has three components: fuel, heat, and oxygen.

Our Tigers learned about shelters. They used various materials to construct shelters for different toys and then tested them with a spray bottle to see how well they held up. Was their toy protected?

Our Cubs also learned about shelters! They made little egg carton shelters and created beaded animals to put inside them.

09/23/2026

09/23/2026

Geckos can climb smooth surfaces because of tiny hair-like structures called setae on their feet. 🦎
These tiny structures create lots of contact with the surface, helping geckos stick to walls and even ceilings. For this project, we made a paper gecko and used Nano Grab Gel mounting tape to model how that sticking ability works. Then we added a paper clip and coins to test how much it could hold! 🪙

09/23/2026

🇮🇪🍀 Around the World: Ireland! 🍀🇮🇪
Today we traveled to Ireland! Our young explorers learned about Irish culture, then got hands-on in the kitchen making mini currant soda bread. 🍞✨
A little geography, a little culture, and a delicious taste of Ireland! 🌎💚

09/18/2026

🤖✨ Our Friday STEAM Explorers kicked off a new robotics & coding unit!
This year, our parent-child meetups are divided into three age groups: Cubs (ages 2–4), Tigers (ages 5–6), and Mustangs (ages 7–11) — with each group exploring robotics at their own level!
🐎 Our Mustangs learned how robots use electrical circuits. We explored series and parallel circuits and discovered that a circuit needs to be closed for electricity to flow.
Then they built their own BUG BOTS! 🪲🤖 Using a toothbrush head, battery, and vibrating motor, students connected the motor wires to the battery tabs to create a closed circuit. The result? Little bug bots that vibrated and scurried all over the table!
🐯 Our Tigers learned that coding is giving a robot instructions in a specific order. They put that idea into action by building mazes and programming their robots from start to finish without hitting obstacles. One group used a robot mouse, while the other took turns pretending to be robots! 🧩💻
🐻 Our Cubs explored the basics of robotics by learning what a robot is, pretending to be robots, following commands, and designing and naming their very own robots! 🎨🤖
So much creativity, problem-solving, and hands-on learning packed into one meetup! 🚀✨

09/16/2026

Today’s science challenge: Kids designed their own water pathways using paper towel and string!
They could choose to create a single-channel pathway or challenge themselves with a multichannel pathway. Then came the fun part—dropping water on one side and watching it travel through their design toward the thorny devil’s mouth! 🔬💦
Inspired by the amazing way thorny devils use tiny channels between their scales to move water toward their mouths, this activity brought capillary action, problem-solving, and engineering together.
Which pathway would you build: one channel or many? 👀