Here you will find free STEM resources for teachers and students.
These are short notes, explanations, activities, and other tidbits to whet your appetite for more STEM learning.
Create an Android App with MIT's App Inventor to display the current Bitcoin PriceYou will be amazed how easy it is to churn out this fun app. I hope this spurs your interest in App Inventor.
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Use an Arduino to calculate the Lunar Eclipses for a given year.Arduino is a powerful little computer that can do complex calculations. Try this neat program and see for yourself.
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Use an Arduino to calculate the positions of Jupiter's MoonsArduino is a powerful little computer so let's get computing!!
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Learn how to use this inexpensive add on to the ArduinoIf you bought this off of Amazon or eBay, you notice it didn't come with instructions. That's where we come in.
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Learn what a Memory Controller is and see how it can replace a logic circuitMost computers rely on logic circuits to do their work. But if you have some ROM chips lying around, you have lots of possibilities for replicating digital logic circuits.
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Play the Game of Life with an ArduinoOk, it's not so much a "game" as much as it is a simulation. Even so, watching your lifeforms grow and die over time based on some simple rules is a lot of fun. Try it out.
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Investigate Switch Bounce with an ArduinoSwitch bounce can cause havoc in your code if you don't know how to handle it. Let's look at this phenomenon and see if we can measure its effects.
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Create a simple reaction timer with ArduinoJust add an LED and a couple of switches to an Arduino and you have a fun reaction time keeper. Then test to see how quick your reflexes are.
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Create a simple binary clock with ArduinoJust add an LED matrix to an Arduino and you have a fun way to teach binary. Oh, and it tells the time too.
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CryptocurrencyBitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum. Are these new currencies for real? Have you even heard of them? Read this very basic introduction to crytocurrency and make sure you are ready for the revolution!
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Calculate the local gravitational acceleration with ArduinoThis is a great weekend project with an Arduino and some household items.
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Play a cool Mastermind-like game using just an ArduinoThis is a fun and quick project that is just ripe for modifying!
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Diffusion vs. Capillary ActionOf these two equalizing forces, which is stronger? Perform this fun experiment to see for yourself.
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Dish Soap BoatCan dish soap actually fuel a boat through the water. Try this simple and fun experiment to see for yourself.
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Bernoulli and his Principle |
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Watch this Video Series on Light and Matter interactionThis 3 part series talks about the 3 major ways incident photons interact with matter.
1: The Photoelectric Effect 2: Compton Scattering 3: Pair Production |
Time DilationIt is mind bending but true. Traveling fast slows down time. How much younger will the first people to Mars be when they land. Let's find out.
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Simple NavigationHow did the early explorers transit the ocean? Learn the basics of Dead Reckoning and Lines of Constant Latitude.
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Unit ConversionUnit conversions occur in a lot of subjects in school and in life. Knowing how to do them accurately will give you the confidence to express yourself in the units you want.
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Planetary DataA chart of some key values for the planets in our solar system. And I included Pluto. You got a problem with that?
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The AtmosphereDo you know the 5 layers of our atmosphere? You will.
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Partial PressureAre you safe in a room with 20% oxygen? You may not be. Take a ride on the International Space Station to find out why.
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The Phase of the MoonYou can look outside. But why when you can calculate it? Calculate the Julian Day and use it to see how many New Moons we have had since the reference date. Then, see how far we are into the current cycle. Grab your calculator!
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Radiation ShieldingOne of the major challenges to a flight to Mars is the radiation exposure. Can you come up with a scheme to protect our astronauts that doesn't break the nation budget?
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OptimizationHow much fence do I really need? Fence is expensive. Let's look at how an engineer would design it for lowest cost. Optimization is an important tool to understand.
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Photon Diffusion for the SunHave you ever heard that it takes about eight and a half minutes for light from the sun to reach Earth? That's kinda true. Read the other half of the story and be amazed.
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Probability of Same BirthdayHow many people do you need to have in a room to make the odds that two of those people have the same birthday be 50/50? Do you know? Can you guess? You may be surprised what the math shows us.
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Photoelectric EffectEinstein lost a lot of electrons and little sleep over this Nobel Prize winning discovery. Read how electrons can get so excited they ditch their atoms. And what about that hazy moon dust?
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Quantum TunnelingThe sun shouldn't shine. But it does. And all because basketballs can pass through walls. Find out how quantum tunneling seemingly does the impossible.
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Reverse OsmosisOsmosis is how cells conduct business and plants suck up water. But what is it really? Find out how to make fresh water from sea water with this neat little process.
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BallisticsBallistics is the study of projectiles in motion. Amazingly, using calculus, you can derive all of the needed equations by just starting with what Newton figured out so long ago. Things fall down.
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