Holiday STEM Party

​On December 16th, we hosted our annual Holiday STEM Party at the Logan Heights Library. At various holiday-themed stations, our participants tested their engineering, logic, and craft abilities in various STEM activities.

First up, participants created Elf Potions. Using red cabbage juice, we learned about chemistry and tested the pH of vinegar, milk, water, baking soda, and dish soap. One participant “I liked seeing the different colors of the mixture when we added cabbage juice.” At our next festive station, the girls competed to engineer the tallest or sturdiest gingerbread houses, using knowledge of geometry and structural design. Each team chose to focus on stacking the highest tower of graham crackers and candy, or to use frosting to make their house last the longest in an earthquake test. One participant exclaimed: “I just love making gingerbread houses,” and her teammate added: “Or in this case, graham-cracker houses!”

After the break, to learn about geometry and angles, participants folded and cut their own fractal snowflakes! Some folds made right angles, while others made acute angles. By cutting out different shapes, the girls could open up the papers and see a beautiful, geometric snowflakes! In another thrilling competition, participants constructed their own Candy Catapults to try and launch peppermints into a cup. They incorporated knowledge of simple machines and physics to engineer their catapult. One participant “liked that it was challenging.” Lastly, the girls solved some holiday mystery puzzles! From sudoku with holiday images to solving a Gift Mix-Up problem, we challenged our minds to spread some fun holiday cheer.
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We hope you can join us for our next workshop about Geometry on January 20th, which will take place at Logan Heights Library. Happy Holidays!!