Must Have Stem Supplies to Ask Families to Collect

 

Planning on having your elementary students complete stem challenges either at home during distance learning or at school? This post will have a stem materials list you can ask families to collect that are easy to find or fairly inexpensive to buy. 

 

 

Offering a list of materials to collect for parents is very helpful because a lot of these items are recyclables or things that accumulate day by day some of these include toilet paper rolls, bottle caps, and plastic straws. Many of the items can be saved for months to come and later be used for science fairs and stem nights. 

 

 

Cardboard scissors

Led lights 

Wires

Tiny motors

Scrap cardboard

Felt

Paper straws 

Regular glue 

Tacky glue

Masking tape

Brad fasteners

String

Craft sticks

Pipe cleaners

Googly eyes

Double sided tape

Regular tape

Rubber bands

Play dough

Battery operated tea lights 

Paper straws

Binder clips

Constructions paper

Washable markers

Sharpies

Paper clips

Paper clips

Paper towel rolls

Plastic bottle caps

Balloons

Styrofoam 

Toilet paper rolls

Egg cartons

Rulers

Drawing compass

 

 

 

 

These stem supplies for elementary are perfect for these stem challenges because they do not require the teacher to have any specific materials ready. The problem, criteria, and constraints are set, but the constraints usually involved time and not being allowed to use adhesives. 

 

For example, the problem in the Pandemic Face Mask Stem Challenge is that students are asked to create a face mask to use during a pandemic when there are no face masks in the stores. Students are to create a mask that covers the mouth and nose from any germs. 

 

 

 

Within this stem activity for elementary, the students can use string, clothe, plastic, or any other combination to come up with their ideas. It’s been a hit so far, and the students get very creative with the materials they come up with to create their designs. If your students are working on these designs in groups, then this post will help you manage your stem groups.