STEAM Teaching Resources
Bring STEM and STEAM learning to life in your classroom with engineering activities for kids, STEM challenges, printable worksheets and more resources designed by teachers for teachers.
This collection of printables and digital activities includes curriculum-aligned resources that will help you meet Australian science curriculum standards while you're getting students hooked on science, maths and more. In addition to being created by teachers, each resource has undergone a rigorous review by the Teach Starter teacher team. That means they're classroom-ready — so you can cut down on planning time!
Looking for tips on integrating STEM into your lessons? Curious about what's in the Australia STEM curriculum? Or maybe you're just trying to figure out how we ended up with STEM, STEAM and STEMM? Read on for tips from the Teach Starter teacher team!
What Is STEM Education?
- Introduction of the scientific method
- Basic science experiments
- Building digital literacy skills
- Maths problems based on real-world applications
- Coding and algorithms
- Critical thinking and problem-solving activities
Although there is no STEM curriculum in Australia per se, the science, technology and maths curricula join together to help students build critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as providing the scientific literacy needed to succeed in STEM or STEAM careers.
While there is no engineering curriculum here in Australia, there are aspects of engineering design and problem-solving that are integrated into the design and technology components of the curriculum. The technology curriculum in primary and secondary schools also ensures students explore the use of various technologies, get acquainted with design processes and learn about the impact of technology on society.
What Does STEM Stand For?
Your school may refer to this sort of education as STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Why STEM?
The acronym has been used in education since the early 2000s when the National Science Foundation in the United States began using the four-letter term to refer to the concept of interdisciplinary education.
What Does STEAM Stand For?
STEM isn't the only term for teaching children these concepts, of course!
Your school may refer to this part of the curriculum as STEAM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. You might even see it written as ST∑@M™.
The addition of the 'A' to STEAM to include art is often credited to American educator Georgette Yakman, who has said that STEAM is not a replacement of STEM.
Instead, Yakman says, 'The liberal arts add the ‘who & why’ to the ‘what & how’ of STEM.'
STEM vs STEAM vs. STEMM — What's the Difference?
There is nothing the education system likes as much as a good acronym, so which one should you be using these days? We have touched on STEM and STEAM, but what is STEMM? And which one should you be using?
- STEM — short for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math — is often considered the OG here with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) showing up as a relatively recent addition, but the truth is STEM and STEAM have both been around for awhile.
- STEMM is the newcomer here. It stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine. Educators and STEMM policymakers say the inclusion of that second M should also come with a focus on diversity and inclusion.
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End of Year - Build a Board Game STEM Project
Make classroom games that review learned content with an end-of-year S.T.E.M. project.
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Coding Robot STEM Challenge Task Cards
Inspire young STEM enthusiasts to have fun with coding robots with printable STEM activity task cards.
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Island Resort Design - STEAM Project
Create and design your own Island Resort with a fun art and STEM project for primary students.
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STEM Design Challenge - Build a Pirate Ship (1-2)
Inspire your early years students to build their a pirate ship with a STEM Design Challenge.
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STEAM Activity Task Cards - Lower Years
Use our easy STEAM Challenges to inspire problem solving and creative thinking in your Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms.
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Design a Paralympic Mascot – Inquiry-Based Project
Have your students design a new mascot for the Australian Paralympic Team with this inquiry-based learning project.
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Design a Conservation T-Shirt – Inquiry-Based Project
Use this conservation project to teach your students about how to ignite positive change in the face of a global environmental crisis.
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Solving Global Problems - Design an Invention Workbook
Help your students discover how innovation and invention can solve global problems with an invention project workbook.
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Build It! Interactive STEM Engineering Activity
Bring engineering into the digital classroom with an interactive design project.
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Playdough STEM Challenge – Task Cards
Use this set of STEM challenge cards to foster critical thinking and problem-solving by building various items with playdough.
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End of Year STEM Challenge
Use critical thinking and problem-solving skills with this set of STEM challenge cards.
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STEM Thinking Prompts - Higher Order Thinking Skills Questions
Use our printable STEM Higher Order Thinking Question cards to improve scientific conversation and critical thinking skills in your students.
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Leprechaun Trap STEM Activity
Experience hands-on STEM concepts with your students with this St Patrick's Day-themed leprechaun trap.
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STEM Activity Graphic Organiser - Lower Years
Use this STEM Activity Graphic Organiser with your students when completing STEM challenges.
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STEM Learning Journal - Experiment Notebook
Use this STEM Learning journal to organize data and learning with your students when completing STEM and STEAM activities.
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Design a Paralympic Logo – Inquiry-Based Project
Have your students design a new logo for the Australian Paralympic Team with this inquiry-based learning project.
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Gingerbread STEM Investigation - Build A Gingerbread Boat
Explore floating and waterproof materials in this Gingerbread STEM investigation embedded in a fun fairy tale story.
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Ugly Christmas Rashie & Christmas Sweater Project
Design an ugly Christmas rashie or jumper to earn your way into Santa’s Celebration with a printable Christmas STEM Project!
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End of Year STEM Activity- Carnival Planning Project
Integrate STEM activities into your end-of-year lessons by inviting young entrepreneurs to plan, design, and advertise their carnival!
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STEM - Engineering Process Poster Pack
Classroom posters outlining the STEM engineering design process.
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What is S.T.E.A.M.? Presentation
Introduce your students to the world of STEAM Education with our 'What is STEAM? Presentation.
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Build a Pizza Box Pizza Oven - Solar Energy STEM Project
Build a pizza box solar oven to demonstrate the power of thermal energy with an exciting Solar Oven Stem Project
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100th Day STEM Challenge Cards - Early Years
Count to 100 while fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills with this set of 11 Early Years STEM Challenge task cards.
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STEM Challenge Planning Guide-Upper Years
Use this STEM Challenge Planning sheet with to keep your students on task and organised when completing STEM challenges.
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STEM Job Description Posters and Lanyards
Help students stay on task during STEM group work with these STEM job description posters and lanyards.
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Design the Perfect Dog Breed - Inherited Traits Activity
Investigate inherited traits that parents pass to their offspring with a Create-a-Puppy selective dog breeding project.
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Christmas Science Experiments
Perform Christmas Science Experiments and teach your students about the scientific method with a set of two printable Christmas Science activities.
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Santa’s New Sleigh - Christmas STEM Activity
Design and build a new sleigh for Santa with a printable Christmas STEM project.
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Christmas STEM Project - Elf Trap
Build a trap to catch an elf with Christmas STEM activities for kids!
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End of Year Project - Design a Classroom Crest
Design a classroom crest and reflect on the year with a printable End-of-School Year activity.
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Science Week Inventions — Digital STEM Activity
Inspire young scientists to invent amazing things with a digital Science Week STEM Activity.
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My Amazing Invention - Planning Templates
Inspire your young scientists to create a unique, problem-solving invention with our differentiated invention-planning worksheets.