Family STEM Challenge

The Center for Inquiry-Based Learning and The Science House created the Family STEM Challenge to provide schools, after school programs, and other youth-serving organizations the opportunity to build and enhance relationships with family members and to engage and inspire young people to explore STEM in a fun way.

The Family STEM Challenge is a 90-minute program that combines science learning and family bonding with school community participation. Family STEM Challenge provides hands-on and competitive activities that demonstrate various scientific principles and make STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning fun, accessible, and more appealing to today’s students. Family STEM Challenge is designed for parents and caregivers to self-guide their students through each activity, supporting family-learning experiences that encourage children to continue pursuing STEM subjects through higher academic levels.

Each Family STEM Challenge kit provides all the materials, supplies, and directions for three highly engaging and motivating activities for up to 36 families (~150 family members). We highly recommend limiting the event to 36 families. However, if more than 36 families wish to participate, then host multiple Family STEM Challenges. For example, do one event for grades K-2 and then do another event for grades 3-5. If you would rather do only one event, you will need two Family STEM Challenge kits and host up to 72 families (~300 family members), but this will require more tables, space, and volunteers to make the event successful. One further point, when we first started speaking with schools, many of them assumed very quickly that they would have 60-80 families at the event, but this turned out not to be true. There are many events, activities, and opportunities that compete for your community’s time. It is best to plan for a targeted number of families and not assume that every family in the school will participate.