DESTINATIONS

STEM Lesson Plan

Please note, this lesson plan was created by FieldTripDirectory.com as a general guide and is not specific to any particular venue listed on our site.

FUN FACTS

Throughout history American innovations have greatly impacted the country and the world. The light bulb, the assembly line, the refrigerator, flight, and the personal computer are all inventions by American innovators. For America to continue to lead the world in innovation, students must be trained, educated, and fluent in the foundation of innovation – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These essential subjects can be found and applied to a plethora of class trip destinations. Consider the science that makes possible the activities you partake in and the places you visit.

OVERVIEW

Students learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and how they are related to specific topics.

 

BEFORE YOU GO

– The principles of STEM education can be applied to almost any thing and any place. The following lesson plan is STEM-centered and generic enough to be used for a variety of class trips.
– Although any class trip could warrant STEM study, the following are suggestions for STEM-specific class trips: museums, planetariums, laboratories, botanical gardens, power plants, observatories, preserves, indoor centers with manipulatives, zoos, aquariums.

 
WHAT TO WONDER

Questions to ask staff: How does this work? What would make this work better?
Describe the use of mathematics, technology, and science in what you see around you.
Observe how technology is making something in front of you possible.
Opinion: Engineers are constantly solving everyday problems. Which engineering feat do you think has made the biggest impact on society? Why?
Compare the technology of information sharing from the past to today.
Challenge: Investigate the simple machines located within the items around you. Explore how they are incorporated into each item.

FOLLOW-UP

Discuss how mathematics has helped solve the real life problems related to this topic.
Project: Design and construct an assembly line for a product inspired by this trip.
Research innovations of the future. How is STEM helping create a better tomorrow?
Social Impact: How has technology impacted society negatively and positively?