Hands-On Science Activities at Radnor STEM Night Next Week

Elementary students in the Radnor Township School District can get a taste of what it means to be a scientist, engineer or mathematician at the district’s inaugural STEM night.

A laundry list of hands-on activities will be available for children and parents on April 23 at Radnor Middle School on Louella Avenue. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the event runs until 8:30 p.m. Registration is required and open through April 20.

Activities include:

• Working with mutant milkweed bugs and different kinds of amphids to explore how genetics and environmental factors may influence the development of organisms.
• Exploring how different materials create a brilliant color display.
• Exploring the physics behind what makes things fly. Students will have the opportunity to try their skills at aerospace engineering by designing a plane that will fly the farthest.
• Working from real lilies, students will make a drawing detailing all parts of the lily. Using #2 pencils, black sharpies and watercolor pencils, kids will create their own version of a scientific drawing.
• Selecting a marker color, dotting the marker on a coffee filter and watching it separate into its color components when placed in water.
• Weighing and estimating the volume of various objects in order to predict whether they will sink or float in a tank of water. The objects are then placed in water and the students observe the result.