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STEM Superheroes

STEM Superheroes Say Hello!

Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes! They don’t just have to be the people we see on our morning cartoons that were bit by a spider and can shoot webs or wear really cool outfits and can shoot lasers from their eyes! There are superheroes who live on our Earth now. These are the people who have special understanding and knowledge of certain math and science in order to help our world work correctly! There are people who test our drinking water to make sure it is safe, save the animals in the ocean and teach us about pollution and littering. There are people who make sure the food we eat is safe in the packaging it arrives to the grocery store in, and there are also people who make sure the buildings we visit and the homes we live in are safe and will not fall down on us. These people are superheroes too! Would you like to learn about them? Let’s do it, but first you will create your own superhero with powers!

Did You Know?

• The people who make sure our houses are built on land that is safe and will keep our housesstanding for a long time are called civil engineers! They also build bridges and tall buildings,like skyscrapers in big cities!

• Electricians make sure our electricity will always work when we want to turn on the lights orplug something in to charge! They also make sure that the electricity is provided in a safeway that cannot shock or hurt us!

• Do you ever wonder why adults have fire extinguishers or fire alarms in your house? Ask ifyou have a carbon monoxide detector in your home! All of these gadgets are designed by firesafety engineers and chemical engineers in order to make sure we can leave our homes safelyif a fire occurs by accident or a chemical that is bad for us is present! These little gadgetsthat we never think about help keep us safe!

Supplies We Need Quantity Item Description1-2 sheets Plain white paper

1 Toilet paper tube, paper towel tube or empty can (something in the shape of a cylinder)

1 Kid-friendly scissors1 Pencil to draw with1 Glue stick* Crayons, markers, colored pencils or something to decorate with

Make Your Own Superhero!

1. First, you will want to draw your superhero out with shapes. Shapes make everything easier!2. Draw a circle for your superhero head.3. Draw a rectangle for your superhero body.4. Draw a large triangle for your superhero cape.5. Pick out a superhero power that you have always wanted and talk about it with your

siblings/mom/dad/guardian/etc.

Thistheme&activitycreatedbyTheSTEMOutreachCenter@NewMexicoStateUniversity(https://stem.nmsu.edu)

6. Color and decorate your superhero head (circle), superhero body (rectangle) and cape(triangle) to show off the superhero power that you have chosen!

7. Cut each body part out and glue it to the toilet paper roll or cylinder you found.8. Cut out the cape and glue it onto the back of the toilet paper roll or cylinder so that your

superhero has their cape on their back!9. Play with your superhero and any building materials you have at home!10. Now bring your superhero with you to meet our STEM Superheroes in this booklet and do

some of the activities with us!

v You can post pictures to your social media pages with parent permission using the hashtag#STEMSuperHeroes for a chance to see your creations reposted on our social media pages!

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STEM Superheroes: Pedro the Philomath!

Superhero Biography

Pedro is a Philomath! A Philomath (feel-oh-math) is someone who loves to learn! Pedro loves to ready, discover, explore, create and use his imagination! Pedro suspects that you might be a Philomath too! Pedro wants to study the different types of superheroes that exist here on Earth now, but he also wants

to play with the superhero powers of the superheroes we love and see on TV in cartoons and movies! Before we learn about a few STEM superheroes, let’s get

active and play with some superhero powers we already love!

Pedro’s Superhero Die (singular for dice) Would you like to get active and play with some of the superhero powers you already know and love? Pedro is going to make a six-sided die that has different superhero moves on it! You should make one too! You can color and decorate it any way you want. You must remember to number your die (dice means 2 or more, die means one) one through six! You can also use your superhero die to help you with any other games you create!

Supplies We Need

Quantity Item Description 1 Dice template for making as many dice as you want! 1 Kid-friendly scissors 1 Glue stick 1 Pencil & crayons or something to draw and color with!

Instructions:

1. Print the dice template, or you can look at ours and draw it on your own piece of paper! All you need to do is open the file on your computer, maximize it on your computer screen, hold up a piece of blank paper and use a pencil to trace the shape you need for the die!

2. Decorate each square of the die with the number (you can draw dots to represent the number or you can write the number 1 through 6) and make your die very colorful!

3. Cut out the die along the outside black lines. The die is one large cut-out, so do not cut any little part of it off. You want to cut the shape out in one large piece, cutting only the outermost thick, black lines.

4. Fold the die along the dotted lines. Fold them well, so they bend properly. 5. Fold the dark flaps in both directions because those flaps with fold inward to help the sides of

the die attach together to make a cube. 6. Run your glue stick on the dark flaps of the cut out. These flaps will be used to attach each

side of the cube together and hold it in place.

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7. Fold the cube into its shape. You want to fold every side of the cube inward & upward or awayfrom you in order to make the cube shape. The cube should fold up and you can use the darkflaps to attach the adjacent cube sides to one another to glue the cube shut.

8. Allow to dry for 15 minutes before rolling the die. If you make more than one, then you havemade a set of dice!

Superhero Moves Directions:

Each side of the die corresponds to a different superhero move! For example start with this:

1. If you roll a 1, you must practice shooting webs like Spider-Man™2. If you roll a 2, you must try doing five push-ups to be as strong as Captain America™3. If you roll a 3, you must try to run in place for 10 seconds like The Flash™4. If you roll a 4, you must try to do ten arm circles to conjure up the weather like Storm™ from

X-Men™5. If you roll a 5, you must try to do five sit-ups, so you can have a strong core to fight bad

guys like Batman™6. If you roll a 6, you must pretend to lasso five different animals, people or things like Wonder

Woman™ does with her Lasso of Justice™!

Create Your Own Superhero Moves:

1. If you roll a 1, you must__________________________________________________

2. If you roll a 2, you must __________________________________________________

3. If you roll a 3, you must __________________________________________________

4. If you roll a 4, you must __________________________________________________

5. If you roll a 5, you must __________________________________________________

6. If you roll a 6, you must __________________________________________________

Having fun? Tag us on social media with

#STEMSuperHeroes and you may see us feature

your images on our social media pages!

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ScienceexplanationprovidedbySteveSpanglerScience(https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/oil-and-water/).ThislessoncreatedbyTheSTEMOutreachCenter@NewMexicoStateUniversity(https://stem.nmsu.edu)

STEM Superheroes: Oscár the Oceanographer!

Superhero Biography

Oscár’s superhero powers are that he is an expert in marine life (animals who live in the ocean) and oceanography. Oceanography is the study of the depth and extent of the ocean’s waters, the physics and chemistry of the water in the ocean and the composition of the ocean. Oscár loves chemistry, physics and marine animals and spends all of his time in the ocean visiting the animals and studying ways in which to help clean the ocean and protect the animals that live there (this is called conservation).

Did You Know?

• There is something like 32 million trillion gallons of water on planet Earth! Wow! Can you trywriting that number?

• On average, the ocean is about 2.3 miles deep!• There are about 3.5 trillion fish in the sea! Do you know the names of some of them?

Oscár’s Diorama

Would you like to see some of what Oscár sees when he dives into the ocean to study animals and the water? Since we do not have an ocean near us, we will create a 3-D model that shows us a scenery from the ocean, and this model will help us see some of what Oscár sees. This 3-D model of the scenery from the ocean is called a diorama. In order to make our diorama, we will need the supplies listed below, but don’t forget to be creative! If you do not have some of the items brainstorm other objects you can substitute or ways that you can make your own! Let’s have fun!

Supplies We Need Quantity Item Description

1 Plastic water bottle of any size (the 16.9 fl oz bottles work very well)* Tap water (enough to fill up your water bottle 1/3 or 33% full)* Vegetable oil (enough to fill up your water bottle 1/3 or 33% full)1 Plastic funnel. If you do not have a funnel, you can make one with a sheet of paper.* Shells, beads, plastic fish or other marine toys you own. You can make these out of

paper or clay too! Simply draw or shape them and cut them out or leave to dry and then add to your collection of items to throw in your water bottle.

1-2 Drops Blue food coloring

Making an Ocean Diorama

1. First, you will fill your empty plastic water bottle with tap water. You want to fill thebottle about 1/3 or 33% full!

2. Add 1-2 drops of blue food coloring to your bottle with the tap water.3. Carefully add your beads, shells, rocks, plastic animals or any other marine life items you

have collected or created to your bottle, one at a time so you don’t knock your bottle over!

ScienceexplanationprovidedbySteveSpanglerScience(https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/oil-and-water/).ThislessoncreatedbyTheSTEMOutreachCenter@NewMexicoStateUniversity(https://stem.nmsu.edu)

4. Fill the plastic bottle with vegetable oil to finish filling the bottle up, but be careful not tooverfill the water bottle. You want to leave some space at the top of the bottle formovement.

5. Place the cap on your water bottle and move it sideways to watch your ocean diorama cometo life!

6. Take pictures of your diorama and post them to your social media account with the hashtag#STEMOutreachSuperHeroes for a chance to see your homemade project featured on oursocial media accounts!

7. Have fun! Use the internet to research marine animals and oceanography. It’s a really greatscience to study. You can be just like Oscár when you grow up!

Let’s Talk Science!

Watch how moving the diorama from side to side or shaking the bottle always ends up with the water separating from the oil. What is happening inside of our diorama to create what we are seeing? Well, “oil and water do not mix. The molecules of water can’t mix with the molecules of oil. Even if you try to shake up a bottle of half-oil and half-water, the oil just breaks up into smaller droplets, but it doesn’t truly mix with the water. Also, food coloring only mixes with water. It does not color the oil at all. If you see coloring in the oil, those are tiny droplets of water trapped in the oil” (Steve Spangler Science). This has to do with the chemistry of water and oil. Each liquid is made of molecules that repel (push away) each other, and so they will never mix! This is actually good news for the ocean because when oil spills happen, we have an opportunity to clean the oil from the ocean because the oil separates from the water. Oil is still extremely deadly and dangerous to marine (ocean) wildlife, so we must be sure to protect, clean and prevent the oceans from experiencing danger!

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Recipe&procedurecourtesyofEmpressofDirtBlog(https://empressofdirt.net/make-fake-snow/#how-to-make).IconscourtesyoftheNounProject(https://thenounproject.com/).ThisthemecreatedbyTheSTEMOutreachCenter@NewMexicoStateUniversity

(https://stem.nmsu.edu)

STEM Superheroes: Helena the Hydrologist!

Superhero Biography

Helena is a hydrologist! What is her superpower? She is great with resources, and her specialization is water! Helena studies the water in her city and all over the world in order to make sure it is safe for you and I to drink and use in our everyday lives! We cannot live without water, so Helena’s job is very important for you and me! Helena wanted to study water and how to conserve (take care of and preserve) it. She knows that all living things need water to survive, and she cares about the people on this Earth and the environment! Today, Helena will be having a bit of fun creating an activity that simulates (models) snow! Snow is the frozen (solid) state of water. Water can be a solid (snow, hail, etc.), a liquid (water we drink, the ocean) or a gas (fog)! Want to create snow with us, even in the summer?

Did You Know?

• Hydrology is defined as the branch of science that concerns itself with studying theproperties of the Earth’s water!

• Hydrologists have many job duties! Some of those duties are to collect water samples inorder to study PH (chemical composition) levels or pollution.

• Hydrologists can also study events such as drought! We are familiar with drought in NewMexico. A drought occurs when the soil does not receive enough water from rain and otherprecipitation (water in its various states). This creates a shortage of water for animals,plants and people!

Helena’s Hands-On “Snowballs” Supplies We Need

Quantity Item Description1 Large bowl

¼ cup Hair conditioner1 ½ cup Baking Soda

1 Mixing spoon

Making “Snowballs” with Helena!

1. First, you will want to get out a large bowl to mix your “snow” in.2. Measure out 1 ½ cups of baking soda. Make sure it is baking soda and not baking powder!

Those are two different ingredients! Put the baking soda into the bowl.3. Carefully measure out ¼ cup of hair conditioner. If you can get white or clear hair

conditioner, that is best! It keeps the “snow” white.4. Add the hair conditioner to the bowl with the baking soda.5. Mix the mixture together, using a spoon to keep the temperature stable. Your hands are too

warm to mix the ingredients. Everything will “melt” faster if you use your hands.6. Now you have “snow” to mold! You can go looking around your house for beads, little rocks, or

other items if you want to form snowmen and create a winter scene.

Recipe&procedurecourtesyofEmpressofDirtBlog(https://empressofdirt.net/make-fake-snow/#how-to-make).IconscourtesyoftheNounProject(https://thenounproject.com/).ThisthemecreatedbyTheSTEMOutreachCenter@NewMexicoStateUniversity

(https://stem.nmsu.edu)

7. You can also just mold the mixture in your hands and create different shapes! Try to createstructures or different animal shapes! Playing with this “snow” helps fine motor skilldevelopment!

8. When you are all done playing, give the mixture to your mom/dad/guardian and they can useit to clean! No waste!

Let’s Talk Science!

In this particular activity, we are not creating a chemical reaction or chemical change. A chemical reaction occurs when two things that are mixed together cause a visual event to occur such as bubbling, fizzing, foaming, etc. A chemical change happens when you mix items together and they become a completely new item that cannot be separated back into the two old items. In this activity, we are creating something called a physical change. That just means that we are combining a solid (baking soda) with a liquid (hair conditioner) to make another solid. This solid will fall apart or “melt” the longer you play with it or leave it sitting out because no chemical reaction occurred to create something new!

+ =

Have fun with your fake snow and take pictures of what you create! You can

post them toyour social media pages with parent

permission using the hashtag #STEMSuperHeroes for a

chance to see your creations featured on our social media pages!

Recipe&procedurecourtesyofLivingWellMomBlog(https://livingwellmom.com/fluffy-dish-soap-slime/).ThemecreatedbyTheSTEMOutreachCenter@NewMexicoStateUniversity(https://stem.nmsu.edu)

STEM Superheroes: Camila the Chemical Engineer!

Superhero Biography

Camila’s superhero power is that she is very skilled with chemicals! Camila is a chemical engineer! She studies chemicals and elements (such as hydrogen and oxygen) and uses them to try to find solutions to problems in the world. A chemical engineer must do many experiments with different chemicals in a laboratory before they can use those chemicals on people or objects in the real world! Camila has to make sure the chemicals are safe to use! Today she will be testing out a slime chemical reaction in order to see how the chemicals work and what she can do with the slime that she makes. Let’s help her with her experiment!

Did You Know?

• Chemical engineers study the chemicals in everything we use, every day! Chemical engineersstudy the chemical composition (mixture) and chemical reactions that happen in food, cleaningsupplies, fuel, medicine and more!

• Chemical engineers get to perform experiments and can work in many different industries! Ifyou become a fire safety engineer, which requires a chemical engineering background, you getto burn objects to test them for safety and chemical composition (the chemicals that comeout of the object when it burns). Cool!

Camila’s Fluffy Slime Supplies We Need

Quantity Item Description1 Large plastic bowl1 Mixing spoon

½ cup Liquid glue, such as Elmer’s School Glue School glue is non-toxic, meaning it cannot hurt you, thanks to testing done by chemical engineers!

1 tablespoon

Dish soap, such as Gain Gain dish soap showed the best results in the example given, but you can use any brand that is safe!

3 tablespoons

Tap water From the sink!

2-3 drops Food coloring1 cup Baking soda (make sure it is not baking powder)

Making a Chemical Reaction with Slime

1. First, you will want to add ½ cup of liquid glue to a large bowl.2. Mix in 1 tablespoon of dish soap to the large bowl.3. Mix in 2-3 tablespoons of water to the large bowl.4. When the mixture starts to foam, add 2-3 drops of food coloring to the large bowl. Mix the

color in using a spoon to distribute the color evenly.5. Add 1 cup of baking soda to the large bowl. The baking soda will start to react with the glue

and create slime. This gives it a “fluffy” look. Kind of like soft, stretchy playdough!6. If the slime is too tough, or too much like modeling clay, add a little more dish soap to thin

the slime out.

Recipe&procedurecourtesyofLivingWellMomBlog(https://livingwellmom.com/fluffy-dish-soap-slime/).ThemecreatedbyTheSTEMOutreachCenter@NewMexicoStateUniversity(https://stem.nmsu.edu)

7. If the mixture is too runny, you can add a little more baking soda to thicken and stiffen theslime up a bit.

8. This slime lasts up to 4 days in an airtight container! Fluffy slime is not edible! Do NOT putit in your mouth. While it is safe for skin, it is toxic (dangerous) for your insides! DoNOT eat!

Let’s Talk Science!

We just watched a chemical reaction occur when you made Camila’s slime! What chemical reactions occurred? There is something in liquid objects called a polymer (paw-limb-err). A polymer is a collection of elements and molecules that are all stuck together to make a long chain-like structure. Glue polymers are sticky and long, that is why glue is excellent to use for sticking items together. Glue polymers are considered ‘stable’, which means that they need only to cling to one another to exist and function. Soap polymers are also long, but they are not stable. They are called ‘unstable’ because they are always looking to grab on to something stable in order to stabilize themselves. When you mix glue with dish soap, the soap polymers grab on to the glue polymers to stabilize, and this creates new polymers that are a mixture of soap and glue! This causes the foamy reaction we are seeing in the bowl. When we add the water, we are adding more stable polymers, because water is ‘stable’ and only needs to attach to other water molecules to function properly. Finally, we add baking soda. When baking soda is combined with water, the polymers and molecules inside of the baking soda become unstable, and this makes them go crazy! That is why we see a foamy chemical reaction. Everything is combining and trying to become stable, and this causes the chemical reactions that lead to the creation of our fluffy slime! Wow!

v Now that you have made fluffy slime with Camila, what can you do with this fluffyslime? Brainstorm ideas and find fun ways to create and to build with your fluffy slime!

v Want to share your creation with Camila the chemical engineer?Post your creation on social media with the hashtag#STEMSuperHeroes for a chance to be featured on our social mediapages!