Ten Tips to Start Your Own STEM Club

In this guest post, Tammy Sila, an elementary school teacher in Whiting, Iowa, and a Science Buddies Ambassador, shares a firsthand look at what is involved in running a successful after-school STEM club—and how you can start your own!

Do It in STEM Club!

Do you wish you could do more STEM with your students but struggle to find a way to fit it in with curriculum requirements? That was my experience. I'm a 4th-grade teacher at a public school that doesn't have STEM in the classroom curriculum. My students are curious and often want to talk about topics that we just don't have time to explore in class. My answer these days? "We can do it after school, in STEM Club!"

Our STEM Club

When it was clear my students wanted more opportunities for hands-on STEM, they went with me to talk with the principal about forming an after-school STEM Club. We are now in our fourth year, and our club keeps growing!

Modeled after a makerspace I taught at during the pandemic and my memories of 4-H when I was a kid, our STEM Club is an opportunity for students in grades 4-6 to get hands-on with science, engineering, and coding with projects and challenges they've selected and are excited about. I find that students at this age really enjoy building things with practical applications that they can connect to everyday life. For example, since we are a rural school, one of our projects was designing self-cleaning chicken coops. They also love things like a pumpkin catapult at Halloween or things they can make to give around the holidays.

Our STEM club, which meets every other week, has been so successful that I am hoping to welcome students in grades 2-3 starting this year. We are even considering offering more than one session so that students who have moved on to middle school but are still interested can attend.

After three years of running STEM Club, I see it as key to empowering students at my school to explore science and engineering with high levels of personal investment. These students are learning to see STEM as a tool they can use to solve problems and invent new things!

10 Tips for Starting and Running a STEM Club

Here are my top ten strategies for starting and running your own after-school STEM club.

1. Start small: Five students came to our first meeting, but as students talked to their friends and peers, more students came. Now with more than thirty-five students attending, our STEM club has gotten so big that the school gave me a whole classroom for the STEM club and all of our stuff.
2. Keep it simple: STEM Club projects don't have to be hard! As teachers, we often think we need to have big projects and fancy supplies to make a club work, but students really enjoy simple activities that give everyone the chance to be involved. There are always ways to satisfy students who are looking for more of a challenge.
3. Gather materials (and funding): Funding is always a concern, but there are many projects available that use simple materials, including paper and recycled or craft materials. Online resources like Science Buddies have hundreds of projects and activities that use everyday or low-cost supplies. You may find that your school has options for sourcing recycled materials. We use a lot of cardboard boxes, for example, which we get from the cafeteria. Search and apply for local grants, too. With grants, you may be able to get supplies that can be used for multiple activities.
4. Emphasize choice: The projects we do in STEM Club are directly related to what the students want to explore. At the end of each meeting, after everyone cleans up, we gather, and the students talk about the projects they want to do in the next few weeks. There are always several projects going on, and students are not always working on the same project. Some might be coding, and some might be building.

   I keep a binder of projects I find, and I document the ones we do and how they go. There are favorite projects that we do every year, like certain robotics projects, but otherwise, I listen to what students want to do and try to find projects that match their interests and that we can manage in terms of supplies. Sometimes I give students three or four choices, but they decide what we'll do.

5. Get the students involved: Give the students responsibility. In our STEM Club, one student is in charge of reminding me to send the weekly newsletter. Another student reminds the office to add the STEM Club to the announcements, and another student is the club's photographer. The STEM Club is "their" club, and that makes a difference.
6. Keep it flexible: If possible, keep an open-door policy. Students don't have to officially "join" our STEM Club or start at the beginning of the school year. There's also no pressure to come every time. They can come whenever they can, depending on their schedules and availability.
7. Learn with your students: Some teachers are afraid to get involved with a STEM Club because they worry they may not have the background or experience. One of the best parts of STEM Club is that kids are empowered to "figure things out." You can all learn and problem solve together. What the students need most is an adult to give them the space, time, and encouragement.
8. Keep parents in the loop: The school's weekly newsletter contains a STEM Club highlight. I also send a weekly newsletter to the parents of students who attend STEM Club to let them know what we are working on. Once a month, we invite parents to come 10 to 15 minutes before the end of STEM Club so that students can show their parents what they've been making. During parent-teacher conferences, we showcase STEM Club projects in the school hallways. These steps also build awareness among parents of students who aren't yet attending STEM Club and keep the club visible to our school administration.
9. Recruit help: If you can, find another teacher who is interested in helping or who you can use as a sounding board to talk about club projects.
10. Have fun! STEM Club should be fun for you and your students students!

Remember, your STEM Club doesn't have to be big or have a large budget to be successful. STEM Club is about making time for students to explore their interests in STEM outside of the classroom. With the right mindset and activities, like the ones available at Science Buddies, your STEM Club will create an engaging and welcoming space for student-driven exploration. You might be surprised at how excited students are about what they discover and create in STEM Club!