16 Best STEM Competitions For Students 2026

STEM competition list

STEM competitions are a great way to encourage kids interested in the fields to push themselves and achieve excellence. These competitions can bolster STEM skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving while working with a team to accomplish a goal. These competitions reward winners with recognition, monetary prizes, and mentorship under brilliant minds. You can find contests … Read more

Mine for Power Gems (A DIY Operation Game)

Build a Minecraft-inspired DIY Operation Game with The Maker Mom!

Build a Minecraft-inspired DIY Operation Game with The Maker Mom!I’ve partnered with Bernzomatic to bring you another fun STEM project to keep you and your big kids busy over Spring Break. This time we’re making a sort of a DIY Operation game called Mine for Power Gems. As with the Fridge Fun Marble Run, this engaging project allows your kids to get crafty while building STEM knowledge and skills.

Get ready to fire your Bernzomatic ST500 Cordless Soldering Iron up again! The cool thing about a cordless soldering iron is that it’s portable. So you can solder on the go. As long as you can create a safe, well-ventilated workspace wherever you go, that is.

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Build a DIY Toy Car with an Empty PURELL Hand Sanitizer Bottle

Learn how to make a DIY car from a plastic bottle on www.TheMakerMom.com.

I’m pleased to bring you a fifth activity, a DIY toy car from a plastic bottle, as part of my relationship with GOJO Industries, the makers of PURELL® Advanced Hand Sanitizer. GOJO and I believe in the power of creative experiences that put hands first. PURELL® Hand Sanitizing Wipes clean away the illness-causing germs, but not the … Read more

How to Make Electroactive Slime

How to make electroactive or electric slime at www.TheMakerMom.com.

Are you planning a Halloween party? Electroactive slime, sometime called electric slime, provides the perfect opportunity to show off your spooky scientific powers. You can fool partygoers into thinking that you’re controlling the electroactive goop with your telekinetic powers. That is, until you explain the science behind the trick. How to Make Electroactive Slime Supplies … Read more

A DIY Post It Notes Learn-to-Code Game

Make a DIY learn-to-code game with TheMakerMom.com and Post-it Products.

Make a DIY learn-to-code game with TheMakerMom.com and Post-it Products.Last week I mentioned that I had a STEM project in the works with the Post-it® Brand. Today I get to introduce it to you! Behold Eye on the Prize, an analog computer programming game. In addition to introducing kids to programming logic, it’s a good introduction to pair programming because you need two people to play.

In pair programming, two programmers work together at a single computer. One writes the code while the other reviews each line of code in real time. In this game, the reviewer waits until the program is written and then runs through the steps, moving the character game piece through the grid to see if the objective is met.

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How to Host a Teen Appathon or Hackathon

Teen Appathon

People + technology can solve any problem. There’s no reason those people can’t be teens, is there? In fact, digital natives are especially well-suited to use technology to create innovative solutions. We recently brought together a group of high school students, mostly from the Niles Township Schools, with a smattering from Lane Tech High School and others … Read more