Creation of STEM-based lab kits for middle and high school students.

Abstract

The objective of the study was to create STEM-based lab kits to be used by middle school and high school students in order to promote interest in STEM and STEM careers. The kits, also called Grab-A-Labs, were meant to be easy for teachers to pick-up from the college and use in their classrooms. The method of the study was to research topics and experiments for students, develop lab kits and worksheets, and then test those kits for student use and learning. Several kits were proposed with five completed in the form of lab procedures with worksheets for students to complete. Time and material constraints limited further development of the procedures into physical projects. While no numerical data was able to be collected at the time, the completion of the worksheets was the results and conclusion of the proposed project. These kits were focused on introducing and teaching about density, electrostatics, DNA, forensics, molecular structures, and chemical properties to students, and they walked students through a lab procedure to complete and questions to answer in order to reinforce concepts showcased in the labs.