--- title: "STEM and Science Activities for Kids at Home | Nookly" url: https://nookly.com/stem-and-science-discovery description: "Low-risk science activities for kids built around their questions: predict, test, measure and explain with ramps, shadows and water." lang: en --- STEM and science discovery # Small question. Audacious e x p e r i m e n t. “Which car is fastest?” is a real science question. Nookly helps you turn your child's curiosity into an immersive learning moment to jump start their interest in STEM. Create an experiment: https://my.nookly.com/create/ Why does the Earth spin around and around? The whole child ## STEM is how kids grow STEM isn't an interest. It's how children grow. Their curiosity is already the scientific method. 1. Notice 2. Predict 3. Test 4. Explain - Image: Kids already think like scientists (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/ff6396af-becc-4246-975c-8a84ea7a6c65/stem-r1-boy-white.webp) Kids already think like scientists National Research Council, 2007 Kids already think like scientists Children arrive at school able to predict, weigh evidence and explain. Teaching works best when it builds on that. National Research Council, 2007 Read the study: National Research Council, 2007 (https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11625/taking-science-to-school-learning-and-teaching-science-in-grades) - Image: Surprise sparks learning (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/e090c6be-58fc-4a87-bb97-0511645d04d9/stem-r2-ball-clean.webp) Surprise sparks learning Stahl & Feigenson, Science, 2015 Surprise sparks learning Infants learned more about objects that broke their expectations, and explored them to test what went wrong. Stahl & Feigenson, Science, 2015 Read the study: Stahl & Feigenson, Science, 2015 (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaa3799) - Image: Play turns into experiments (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/65f720b8-31cb-45c1-94a9-7cd822deee36/stem-r3-cube.webp) Play turns into experiments Schulz & Bonawitz, 2007 Play turns into experiments Preschoolers explored longer and more purposefully when it was unclear how a toy worked. Schulz & Bonawitz, 2007 Read the study: Schulz & Bonawitz, 2007 (https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.4.1045) - Image: Discover together, not alone (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/69d5957e-24f5-4039-9564-a4656344d65b/stem-r4-seed.webp) Discover together, not alone Alfieri et al., 2011 Discover together, not alone Across 164 studies, discovery with adult prompts and feedback beat both telling the answer and leaving kids alone. Alfieri et al., 2011 Read the study: Alfieri et al., 2011 (https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021017) - Image: Learning is whole-child (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/6c9c727b-d06d-4be7-a6ff-4fa3f4465dad/stem-r5-coder.webp) Learning is whole-child Darling-Hammond et al., 2020 Learning is whole-child Feelings, relationships and thinking work together. Kids learn best when tasks connect to who they are. Darling-Hammond et al., 2020 Read the study: Darling-Hammond et al., 2020 (https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791) Hover or tap a card to see the research. How Nookly works ## Made in five steps From child to finished thing, in five steps. Step one ### First, Nookly gets to know the child. Before anything is made, you tell Nookly who this child actually is — how they look, who lives in their house, the friends and pets they talk about, and what they are obsessed with this month. Everything Nookly creates later is built from this one profile. Set up once. Reused in everything after. - Image: Home illustration (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/a774c539-5761-4a78-bcbd-3a952a1a8487/parents.png) Home Mom, Dad and baby brother - Image: Best friend illustration (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/ff10e1f7-58ee-40ac-b7d8-09380c4f651a/best-friend.webp) Best friend Chloe from school Zara, age 5 Image: Zara, a five-year-old in a yellow t-shirt and blue jeans (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/c643542c-94ce-4359-a039-8e583a8e3a7d/zara-cutout.webp) - Image: Interests illustration (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/cdbfbdfc-31d7-4e60-a436-8e9d9a0a88be/dinosaur.png) Interests Dinosaurs, puddles and the colour red - Image: Pets illustration (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/4dc672e4-23b9-43e1-afcc-a919cdcb6701/turtle.webp) Pets Biscuit, a very slow tortoise Step 1 of 5 Image: A girl sawing a plank while a boy holds it steady at a workshop table (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/f199dfbc-61b9-40b5-8d73-f05fc5ea1a1d/kids-woodworking.webp) Thinking like a scientist ## Let evidence surprise Let the evidence surprise them The best part of an experiment is when the prediction was wrong. Science at home is observe, predict, test, measure, rethink and explain. Being wrong is part of it. These starter concepts use everyday materials. Choose an activity that fits your child, check the instructions, and stay involved. Observe and predict Kids say what they notice and what they think will happen. Fair tests Older kids learn to change one thing at a time. Measure Counting, timing and comparing with simple tools. Explain Kids share what the evidence shows, and what they’d try next. Learning bundles ## STEM bundles Bundles to test, build and discover Ramps, bridges, shadows, plants and smart questions about AI. Hands-on bundles that turn ‘what if?’ into an experiment. Explore more ready-made ideas in Nookly’s public children’s learning resource library, the Neighborhood (https://my.nookly.com/marketplace/browse/). **Want one made just for your child?** Subscribe below to personalize this bundle, or create your own around your child’s name, interests and goals. Open Easy STEM Activities: Ramps, Floating and Bridges (https://my.nookly.com/marketplace/bundles/6ac38e17112b080ffca3cf0c) Picture cards Will It Float? Sink-or-float picture cards that get kids predicting before they test. Ages 5-6 ### Easy STEM Activities: Ramps, Floating and Bridges: https://my.nookly.com/marketplace/bundles/6ac38e17112b080ffca3cf0c Hands-on STEM built on the predict–test–observe loop. Kids guess, then try ramps, floating, and bridge-building for themselves, with picture cards and short videos modelling each experiment. $7.99 Purchase bundle: https://my.nookly.com/marketplace/bundles/6ac38e17112b080ffca3cf0c Subscribe & personalize: https://my.nookly.com/membership/ Beyond the screen ## Off the screen Take it off the screen A few things from the kitchen. A question worth testing. 1. ### Hallway ramp Prop a board on books. Race two toys three times and record who wins. You’ll need: A board, books, two toy cars 2. ### Shadow check Chalk around a shadow in the morning, at lunch and before dinner. You’ll need: Chalk, a sunny day 3. ### Foil boat challenge Fold foil into a boat and add coins until it sinks. Then change the shape. For older kids, with an adult; keep coins away from toddlers. You’ll need: Foil, coins, a tub of water ### What's in the membership? Personalized stories and learning experiences, guided by their family. Work toward a learning goal with a personalized plan, or create something for the moment they’re in. - #### Personalized creations Stories, videos, songs, podcasts and activities made around the child in front of them. - #### Learning plans A personalized learning plan, called a Blueprint, supports a goal the family chooses and helps the kid achieve it. - #### Resources to explore Explore ready-to-use stories and activities, with personalization where available. Subscribe now (https://my.nookly.com/membership) ## Ideas to try together Ideas for learning together - Image: A boy in safety goggles happily mixing a fizzing green experiment in a seaside science nook (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/5e5f1abd-ae6d-44b6-89c6-1121aea93ae0/stem-boy-lab.webp) Guide ### Will It Roll Farther? A Kitchen-Table Guide to Scientific Curiosity How to turn everyday questions into small, safe experiments. Read the article (https://nookly.com/learning/stem-activities-kids-test-their-questions) - Image: A girl in glasses smiling as she codes on a sticker-covered laptop in a sunny, book-filled room (https://nookly.com/__l5e/assets-v1/e8d70069-65b8-46bc-b35b-2cb2a68896ab/stem-girl-coding.webp) Comparison ### Nookly vs KiwiCo vs Mystery Science: The Kit, the Lesson, and the Next Question A project kit, a video lesson and a personalized plan, compared by fit. Read the article (https://nookly.com/learning/nookly-vs-kiwico-mystery-science) Turn their question into a test Tell Nookly what they wondered about today. Create an experiment (https://my.nookly.com/create/) ## Questions? We l o v e those! ### Are the experiments safe? ### Do I need a science kit? ### What if the result is ‘wrong’? ### Does this follow a school science curriculum? ### My toddler just wants to splash. ## Structured data ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://nookly.com/#organization", "name": "Nookly", "url": "https://nookly.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://nookly.com/logo.png" }, "description": "Nookly is an AI-powered personalized learning platform for children, typically ages 2–11. Adults describe a goal, question, topic, or everyday moment and Nookly creates a personalized learning plan or a single on-demand experience.", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/nooklybot", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/nookly", "https://www.facebook.com/nooklyinc" ], "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "Customer Support", "email": "support@nookly.com" } }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://nookly.com/#website", "name": "Nookly", "url": "https://nookly.com/", "inLanguage": "en", "publisher": { "@id": "https://nookly.com/#organization" }, "description": "Personalized learning plans and on-demand learning experiences for children, plus a public children's learning resource library." } ] } ```