Fun STEAM activities for History

My students loved taking part in these STEAM activities which have been designed for Key Stage 2 students. The activities are in Power Point form and instructions are given step by step so the class teacher and students can successfully recreate five different inventions (I have also listed a ‘what you will need’ slide for each activity). I have also put a link in to an example of each activity (You Tube) to show students how the finished activities should look). You can click the links to see what each STEAM activity looks like on completion.

• Sebastian Lenormand’s parachute (made out of black bin liner)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGobZeXR5OE&list=PLgzcyyWkDljnR_SCk9QRVfPwokv9o8T0a&index=7&t=0s

• Lawrence de Mole’s tank (with working rubber bank gun!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJl6-KUKPvc&list=PLgzcyyWkDljnR_SCk9QRVfPwokv9o8T0a&index=24&t=0s

• Henry Ford’s Model T motor vehicle (propelled by balloon power!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4WMD1fjeDY&list=PLgzcyyWkDljnR_SCk9QRVfPwokv9o8T0a&index=25&t=0s

• Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s bridges (made from uncooked spaghetti)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baGpVKMGQy4&list=PLgzcyyWkDljnR_SCk9QRVfPwokv9o8T0a&index=22&t=0s

• And Robert Goddard’s rocket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpLAOjZA0zw&list=PLgzcyyWkDljnR_SCk9QRVfPwokv9o8T0a&index=9&t=0s

All of the activities are fun for students and designed to generate thinking about how significant these inventions are and how they work. Each activity works towards a collaborative element where students test their inventions or participate in a race or game.

I really enjoyed creating this series of STEAM lessons and my students loved them more than any other classes that year. I hope you find them helpful with your students too. These lessons are naturally a bit messy but bring out the very best in students and help them develop a love and appreciation of the past.