Heavier or Lighter
Here's a STEM activity to introduce weight/mass, measuring, categorizing, graphing, and even touch on the scientific method. Use your child's current favorite small toy as your benchmark as well as other favorite items and household objects to keep it engaging and fun!
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What you need
food scale
paper
markers/crayons
small toys and household items of various weights
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Lightening McQueen has yet to be dethroned at our house, so we decided to weigh him and find out which other Disney 'Cars' characters weighed more or less than he does, as well as other things from around our house. This is a great activity to not only bring awareness to weight/mass of objects, but also use the basics of the scientific process by making a guess, testing it out, and recording the results.
To start off, I collected things from around the room and kitchen with different weights while my son collected a few cars besides Lightening. Then we made our chart. I love making things large using a roll of craft paper, but you can always keep it small on a regular size sheet or even tape a few sheets together if you wanna go big. I made two columns - one for "heavier than lightening" and one for "lighter than lightening."
Then we busted out the food scale and measured Lightening to find out our benchmark - he weighed 55grams. (I switched from oz after I realized how confusing decimals are to explain).
Next up, we chose items to weigh. Have your kiddo guess first if they think it will be heavier or lighter, then test the result. Once you discover the answer, put the item in the appropriate category with its weight listed next to it. I was feeling doodley so I drew (almost recognizable) pictures, too.
Once you weighed all the objects, have your child help you put them in order from lightest to heaviest for a great visual representation. There ya go! You just had 30ish minutes of fun AND learning!
#STEM #Math #Science #Measure #Weight #Mass #ScientificProcess