This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on behalf of Orkin; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Sitting at a desk, listening to a lecture.
Reading a textbook and writing out the answers to questions.
That’s part of school, but it’s not really what gets kids excited about learning or what they remember.
When my boys talk about what they did at school that day or when they look back over the school year to what they remember, it’s not those sorts of things that stick out to them.
They like to do.
It’s when they get to do classroom projects, experiments, and anything hands-on that they really remember what they’ve learned. And when they know they’ll be doing these sorts of activities at school, they’re excited to go to school that day.
Their school has always been pretty terrific at providing these types of STEM learning activities for the students, but they took it a step further last year by adding a Makerspace lab.
When they had Makerspace, it was a time to invent, tinker, explore, and create, using a variety of tools and materials. My boys did many science related activities, like making a pumpkin chunker, designing a balloon-powered car, trying to figure out how to build the tallest structure with the given materials, and the classic design a contraption that will keep an egg from breaking when it’s dropped from a tall height.
Getting to see science and math concepts come to life and be used in a practical way really got them excited about learning.
Since not every school has a STEM program like this in place, Orkin hopes to inspire an eagerness to learn with their Start with Science initiative. They provide materials to classrooms in need and makes these types of experiences possible for your kids and other children around the country.
So far, Orkin has donated over $325,000 to fund over 1400 classroom projects for more than 123,000 U.S public schools.
I was able to check out the Start with Science projects that teachers are hoping to fund and contribute to a science or math project through DonorsChoose.org just in time for back to school.
I searched for a classroom project in a school near me.While neither of the schools my boys attend had a STEM project proposed, there were plenty of projects in our district. The one I thought sounded like a lot of fun was Collaboration = Success, where the teacher was looking for materials so her students could participate in classroom escape rooms throughout the school year. They would have to work together to solve clues and puzzles. Locks, invisible ink pens, and blacklights sound like the start of a really fun and exciting science class.
Through Start with Science, I bet I can make that teacher’s back to school a little happier when she sees that her classroom project is almost fully funded.
To donate to a project of your choice, head over to Orkin Start with Science.
Giveaway
To make it even easier to donate to an Orkin Start with Science classroom project, I’m giving away a $50 code for Donors Choose. Please enter in the Rafflecopter below.