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Daisy STEM Career Exploration Activities
Now complete this fun activity to learn about STEM: science, technology, engineering, and math.
(Leverage the video above to help your planning.)
Activity Details
Time needed: 30–45 minutes
Materials Needed:
- For the Science Challenge: Live plant, paper, drawing and coloring supplies
- For the Technology Challenge: An open space to play a game
- For the Engineering Challenge: Toothpicks, clay
- For the Math Challenge: Coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters)
Setup:
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. It’s how we understand and build our world. What’s around you? What does each thing do? How do they help you? Cars help us travel. Toys help us have fun. Food gives us energy. People create many of these things. They’re all made using STEM.
How do you use STEM today? How can you use it in the future? When you grow up, you might work with animals. You might take care of children. You might explore outer space. This is called your job, or career. Many careers use STEM, and so do you!
Activity:
Explore careers in STEM by learning about four STEM fields and completing a challenge for each field.
Field One: Science
Science is learning about all different things. We can help nature and animals. We can look at the human body. We can study life on earth and explore outer space.
Do you like nature and space? Here are some ideas for careers in science and how you can make a difference:
- Veterinarians care for animals.
- Meteorologists track the weather.
- Doctors help people stay healthy.
To explore what it’s like to have a career in science, become a plant expert. Botanists are scientists. They study plants. For the challenge, find a plant. Draw it. What do you want to learn about it? What questions do you have?
Field Two: Technology
Technology is machines like cars, computers, and microwaves. We build technology to help us. It can be fun. It can solve problems, too.
Do you like computers? Here are some ideas for careers in technology and how you can make a difference:
- Roboticists build robots.
- Graphic designers make digital art.
- Cryptographers keep people safe online.
To explore what it’s like to have a career in technology, pretend you’re a programmer. Programmers make apps. They make websites. They make video games, too. They do all this with code. Code tells computers what to do. For the challenge, program a computer by playing “Programmer Says.” Have a friend be your computer. What will they do? Tell them step-by-step. Have them follow your code, just like a computer!
Field Three: Engineering
Engineering is designing and building things. Engineers build bridges, cars, roads, or other objects.
Do you like to build things? Here are some ideas for careers in engineering and how you can make a difference:
- Mechanical engineers design spacecraft and cars.
- Electrical engineers light up homes and cities.
- Chemical engineers create new medicines and materials.
To explore what it’s like to have a career in engineering, engineer a building. Civil engineers design and build bridges. They build roads. They build buildings, too. For the challenge, imagine you’re building a tower. What would it look like? Build it with toothpicks and clay.
Field Four: Math
Math is using numbers and shapes. It helps us to understand the world. It helps us count and measure.
Do you like numbers? Here are some ideas for careers in math and how you can make a difference:
- Food scientists measure ingredients for new recipes.
- Cardiologists look for heart patterns.
- Ecologists count plants and animals.
To explore what it’s like to have a career in math, count money like a banker. Bankers count bills and coins. They keep your money safe. For the challenge, count five pennies. That’s equal to one nickel. Count ten pennies. That’s equal to one dime. For more fun: Count 25 pennies. That’s equal to one quarter.
And that’s it! You’ve explored STEM and how it can make a difference. Even more, you learned about different careers and completed challenges related to four different fields of STEM.
If you had fun doing this activity, you might want to continue exploring your interests and how you can make the world a better place with the Daisy STEM Career Exploration badge.
If you want to continue learning more about STEM, search for STEM Journeys and Badges for Daisies on the Girl Scout Award and Badge Explorer.
