Celebrate Roald Dahl Day with Magical STEM Learning
September 3, 2024 / Heather Reyes
What's your favorite Roald Dahl story? Would you like to recreate a magical scene from one of his tales? With Roald Dahl Day approaching, it's the perfect time to delve into the fantastical world created by one of Britain's most beloved authors.
Roald Dahl's stories have captivated generations of readers with their imaginative plots and quirky characters. But did you know that these magical stories can also serve as a springboard for engaging children in exciting STEM learnng?
When scenes from the stories come to life in the real world, get ready for cheers from your kids! Today, let's explore how to introduce STEM learning on Roald Dahl Day, igniting children's curiosity and creativity.
Roald Dahl STEM Learning: Magical Activities Inspired by His Storie
Roald Dahl's stories are filled with magical STEM elements, making them ideal sources of inspiration for educational activities. Inventive creations, scientific phenomena, and engineering marvels all captivate young minds. How can we transform Roald Dahl's classic stories into fun activities for some engaging STEM learning? Here are some ideas for you to consider:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory STEM Activities
From edible teacups to chocolate rivers, Willy Wonka's fantastical creations are irresistible to children. They won't be able to help but want to explore actively.
1. Melting Chocolate
At what temperature do different types of chocolate melt? How does the taste of chocolate change after melting? Can we design packaging to prevent melting? This is a great research opportunity for children to learn about science through delicious chocolate experiments. Children can also explore how chocolate manufacturers in hot countries deal with the problem of melting chocolate.
Try dipping strawberries at different temperatures (room temperature, refrigerated, frozen) into melted chocolate and see in which case the chocolate solidifies fastest.
Watch the video below for some chocolatey inspiration:
2. Edible "Potions"
Remember the carbonated lemonade swimming pool in the chocolate factory? Take a sip of Willy Wonka's carbonated drink, and you might float away! Add bubbles to turn ordinary lemonade into an extraordinary and fun beverage.
How can we make it even more interesting? Turn your lemonade pink! Like Willy Wonka, explore the chemical reactions of "potions" by adding a few spoonfuls of purple cabbage juice to your lemonade. A magical acid-base colour change reaction will unfold before your eyes. This science experiment is not only visually appealing but also delicious.
If your young explorers get excited about this colour-changing acid-base experiment, that's fantastic! This fun activity can spark their curiosity and encourage them to dive deeper into the captivating world of acids and bases."
For example, test which common household items are acidic and which are alkaline. How can you make an acid-base indicator at home? Can you make a chemical electromagnetic stirrer by hand? Check out the Chemical Tornado STEAM Box, it will give you many surprises.
3. Growing Rock Candy
The 10,000-foot-deep rock candy mine in the chocolate factory must have left a deep impression on you! If you could visit Willy Wonka's factory, you would also discover a forest of rock candy in various flavors and colors. With just sugar and water and a few simple materials, you can "grow" your own rock candy! Isn't it incredible? It's actually all about crystallization.
How big can your rock candy grow? Can you grow it into a specific shape? Can you add color or flavor to it? You'll learn more once you start doing it.
Watch the video below to see how you can grow your own great rock candy:
The BFG STEM Activities
1. Making Dream Jars
The BFG blows dreams from bottles into children's rooms. These bottles are filled with glittering potions, which might be a bit like lava lamps? On Roald Dahl Day, explore with children how to make their own dream jars.
Add effervescent vitamin tablets to oil to create a wonderful lava lamp; add black colouring and spiders to make a scary Halloween version.
Children can also make rainbow dream jars like in the video below. By mixing coloured solutions of different densities, they can create a rainbow in the jar.
2. Flying a Hot Air Balloon
Do you want to experience the magical feeling of giants flying in The BFG? Make a hot air balloon at home and see how to make it successfully take off. You can use the simplest materials, such as making a hot air balloon with a garbage bag and using a toaster as its heating device.
This STEM activity helps children understand scientific principles such as thermal expansion and contraction, buoyancy, and gas density. If your hot air balloon fails to fly successfully during the day, try it at night.
From the giants' flight back to reality, why can airplanes fly? Why are most airplanes white? Who can fly higher, airplanes or birds? You can expand your learning about flight science through the Plane Launcher STEAM Box, making an airplane launcher and illuminated runway by hand.
3. How Tall is the BFG?
Sophie can fit into BFG's shirt pocket. If her size is comparable to that of an average 8-year-old child, can you calculate BFG's height? This is a very interesting math problem, and children will surely be excited to calculate BFG's height.
By the way, did you know that a person's arm span is usually equal to their height? Let children measure their own and their family members' arm spans and compare them with their heights to see if this rule holds true.
The Twits STEM Activities
1. Making Wormy Spaghetti
Like Mrs. Twit did for Mr. Twit, make some wormy spaghetti for your curious little ones at home. Just cook spaghetti in water, add a little food coloring, then add some fake worms, spiders, and a little vegetable oil for a fun STEM sensory activity. This activity is also very suitable for Halloween. Watch the video below to learn more:
2. Making Worms with Juice
Another memorable part of the story is when Mrs. Twit feeds her husband earthworms! Can you make spaghetti worms using straws and jelly? Unlike what Mrs. Twit made, this one is really delicious! Teach Beside Me made some wonderful worms using juice! Check it out.
If children are interested in making delicious food, you can also explore the Pizza Maths STEAM Box with them, learning mathematical concepts and knowledge through rich sensory experiences. The activity also incorporates role-playing games, simulating restaurant ordering for pizza customization. You can also add some food colouring and horror elements to make a Mrs. Twit version of a prank pizza.
Watch the video below to learn more:
Incorporating STEM into Roald Dahl Day and Family Daily Life
Roald Dahl Day is an excellent opportunity for families to engage in fascinating STEM activities together. By recreating scenes from Roald Dahl's stories, ignite children's enthusiasm for actively exploring STEM. Here are some suggestions for incorporating Roald Dahl's magical elements into STEM celebration activities:
- Host a Roald Dahl-themed STEM day. Turn inspirations from Roald Dahl's stories into real STEM activities. You can set up multiple activity stations at home, with each station featuring a different Roald Dahl story-related project. Trust me, there will always be a project that can ignite children's passion for STEM learning, making them endlessly excited.
- Integrate STEM into daily learning. Even after Roald Dahl Day, you can incorporate elements from his stories into regular STEM curricula. For example, after children finish reading a new Roald Dahl story, explore with them to see what interesting science experiments or engineering challenges can be extended from it.
- Explore rich STEM Boxes. Roald Dahl has painted for us a rich and imaginative story world, which you can also experience through exploring STEM Boxes. As a creative supplement to family STEM activities, STEM Boxes provide rich thematic inspirations and complete project resources, making STEM learning both fun and educational, and very easy to implement.
Roald Dahl's stories not only inspire children's imagination, but the elements he advocates in his stories - encouraging problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity - are all core aspects of STEM learning. By celebrating Roald Dahl Day and engaging in captivating STEM activities, we can ignite children's curiosity and creativity while making STEM learning fun.
You can simplify the whole thing by subscribing to STEM Boxes. Tinkerer offers imaginative and rich thematic exploration projects. Want to keep the magic of Roald Dahl's stories going all year round? Try subscribing to Tinkerer STEAM Box!
