STEM subjects always come up when we talk about education and innovative methods. Which are the best apps to explore this world and to introduce science to children and teenagers? Here’s our selection – perfect for all ages
STEM Subjects: What Are They?
8th November is International STEM Day. Do you know what we celebrate on this day and why it’s so important?
The acronym STEM, used for the first time in 2001 by American microbiologist Rita Colwell during a conference at the National Science Foundation, groups together the main technical and scientific disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Other variations have been introduced over time, such as STEAM (which includes Artistic disciplines) or STREAM, with the R standing for Robotics.
Given the importance of these subjects, boys and girls need to be exposed to STEM subjects in school as soon as possible, with the aim of embarking on future careers in the scientific, technological, engineering or mathematical fields.
All these apps offer fun and creative ways to help you play with and learn about the STEM world.
The Best Apps to Learn About STEM
We’ve chosen the best of the countless useful apps for STEM disciplines out there. All these apps are available for a range of age groups, and most of them can be downloaded for free on any device. If you want to introduce children and teenagers to science and offer them a simple, intuitive approach to STEM subjects, why not start from here?
Maggie and The Treasure of Seshat – ages 7-12
If you want to introduce your daughter or little cousin to STEM, Maggie and The Treasure of Seshat is the perfect app for primary school students ages 7-12. All the games available are based on riddles (including math games) that become increasingly more difficult as you advance in the game. It’s an excuse to get your kids to play, but you’ll end up glued to the screen along with them hoping to find the treasure of Seshat – aka “The Scribe” – the ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, arithmetic and architecture.
To test your arithmetic skills with isometries, probability theory, graph theory and greatest/lowest common divisor and multiple, just connect to the website and embark on this exciting mathematical challenge.
Hacking STEM – ages 11-16
A fantastic app collection useful for middle school students and teachers interested in studying or teaching STEM subjects, Hacking STEM includes a vast selection of ready-made lesson plans enhanced by multimedia materials with a clear graphic design. The amount of materials available lets you create all kinds of research in the engineering, scientific, tech and mathematical fields.
PhET Colorado – all ages
The PhET Interactive Simulations Project (University of Colorado Boulder) was created in 2002 by Nobel Prize winner Carl Wieman to offer magnificent interactive simulations for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science and Biology. All you have to do is choose your discipline and one of the available subjects: Sound & Waves, Heat & Thermo, Electricity, Magnets and Circuits or Quantum Chemistry or Math Applications. The site also lets you choose between grade levels (elementary, middle and high school or university).
Some More Interesting Ideas for STEM Education
Online, you’ll find lots of useful websites for exploring STEAM subjects. First of all, we recommend the Scientix portal, a vast community promoting scientific education in Europe through the collaboration between teachers, researchers, politicians, students and everyone involved in STEM. The website includes interesting topics, projects and conferences to keep up to date.
Which app is your favourite? We love them all!
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