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 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?

1. 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.
2. 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.