Welcome to Vivify’s Blog!

Design a Mars Colony: STEM Project

Six steps to designing a colony on Mars! Students learn about Mars, brainstorm and research design solutions for food, water, energy, and other critical systems, and build a colony model from recycled materials. This is the perfect way to take your STEM or STEAM program to the next level with a project-based STEM challenge!

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Pi Day STEM Activities

Happy Pi Day week! Are you planning to memorize all the digits of pi or maybe just eat some blueberry pie? If you are looking for new ideas, read on for STEM activities all about Pi! We have everything from a virtual pie to a spinning pie to help celebrate Pi Day with your students.

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Hour of Code Resources + Unplugged Coding Activity

Schools across the world will participate in an Hour of Code on December 3 - 9th as part of Computer Science Education Week. Interested in participating or enhancing your lesson plans? Check out our must-watch inspirational coding videos plus helpful blogs and websites on teaching coding. No computer? No problem - try out our favorite unplugged coding activity!

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Ultimate STEM Gift List

Tis the season for shopping for STEM gifts! Looking to score something fun and educational for your kids or great deals for your classroom? Read on for our favorite STEM toys and learning tools to add to your holiday wish list. Everything is sorted by age including some holiday treats for yourself!

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Top 35 Amazing STEM Books for Kids

Summer is the perfect time to read books for your enjoyment, but that doesn’t mean the books you read should not have educational value. Books can provide new perspectives or set new aspirations! Harness the possibilities of the world books open to readers by indulging in STEM books. Whether you will be reading to little ones, recommending books for teens, or diving into books as an adult, there are a multitude of STEM books on the market to suit any interest. We listed some of our favorite STEM books and book series below for you to read this summer or any time of the year.

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Solar Eclipse Party and Activities

We have put together some activity suggestions, tips, resources, and an event planning guide to make the most of a Solar Eclipse happening near you! We also have a FREE solar eclipse paper circuit lesson in our STEM Explorer Lesson Library!

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STEM Summer Activities!

In honor of all that you do to balance your life and pouring love and learning into the lives of those you teach, head over to Teachers Pay Teachers today and tomorrow only to save up to 28% site wide! Our recommendation would be to take advantage of this sale to stock up on all things STEM! We have created a 3 months full of STEM activities that will continue to inspire and enrich your students' learning all summer long! 

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STEMtimidation and Cady Coleman

“To Claire, we are going to need more astronauts”

 These are the words that Cady Coleman wrote on the autographed picture that was given to me in grade school. The picture has graced the walls of my childhood bedroom as I dreamed of becoming an astronaut like herself, then in college as I pursued my degree in Aerospace Engineering, and now in the office at my home where I am raising my daughters to dream big and be inspired by people like her.

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Weather Balloon Launch: Conclusion!

I know you have been waiting on pins and needles on the update from the last balloon launch failure! The students were very disappointed in the lost data, but they learned a valuable lesson of engineering. Failure is an integral part of all engineering, and it provides an opportunity to learn and try again! 

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Weather Balloon Launch: Recovery Drama

After a successful launch, the balloon team was on fire! We had just successfully launched a balloon into the stratosphere, and everyone was jumping from excitement. But very quickly our enthusiasm turned to dread as we had yet to receive a GPS signal. We went from the high of releasing the balloon to a state of depression as we anxiously refreshed the webpage, hoping the GPS would come through. Without a signal, all hope was lost for recovering the balloon.

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Weather Balloon Launch: Launch Day!!

At 8:30 AM, after delicious breakfast tacos, the students and the high school film crew, drove to the launch site. We had a welcome party waiting at the park including teachers, school staff, media, and a local celebrity! Bill Taylor, weatherman of KENS5, brought his daughter to witness the launch and cheer us on. He even documented the event on his Facebook page, which garnered almost 20,000 views!

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