STEM Sleepover

On Friday night, 10 Guides and 4 Second-Year Brownies got together for an evening of STEM-themed fun! We had four stations available and girls moved through them in any order they chose, spending as much or as little on each activity as they wished. Everyone had a good time designing, creating and building. We had a snack of pizza, veggies and dip before saying good-bye to our Brownie friends.  

Build a Rocket Car
Our first station - and probably the most popular! - was to build a balloon-powered rocket car. The original plan was to use paper towel rolls for the body of the cars, but we soon found that they were too heavy, so we experimented and came up with some creative designs using alternate materials. Supplies provided were paper towel rolls, styrofoam cups, straws, sponges, skewers, balloons, tape, rulers and scissors. 

Create a Kaleidoscope
The second station focused on physics and girls were able to create a working kaleidoscope. We used the heavier tubes from industrial paper towels for the basis of the kaleidoscopes. The eye piece is created by cutting out a circle of cardstock and punching a hole in the centre, then using packing tape to attach it to one end of the tube. Next, a pre-measured and scored piece of cardboard is folded to make a triangle. The inside of the triangle is covered with tinfoil (using silver cardboard would have been better), then the triangle is taped together and inserted into the tube. We then used tri-beads and salad dressing containers (small) attached to the open end of the tube to finish things off. When painted towards a light source and turned, the light passes through the coloured beads and refracts off the foil surface to create the coloured designs!

Design a Pencil Case
The third station challenged girls to upcycle two plastic cups into a pencil case, treasure box, bug catcher, or anything else their imagination could come up with! We provided cups, velcro for attaching the cups to each other, glue and decorating supplies.

Crack a Code 
The fourth station was all about cryptography and codes. The girls had a chance to try out different types of codes, including a Caesar Cipher Wheel, Pigpen Cipher, Morse Code, Scytale Cipher, and creating their own Secret Code.
After the Brownies left, we cleaned up and then the Guides played board games, read and chatted before going to bed. Saturday morning was busy with clean-up, breakfast, packing and good-byes before heading home. 

Links and Downloads:

• Code and Cipher Sheets
• 3 Ways to Make a Kaleidoscope (external link)
• How to Make a Balloon Powered Car (external link)