Written by Rebecca Reid

We had so much fun playing with apples in STEAM class yesterday. We learned about the scientific method and then we created towers (or modern art) with apple chunks. Our apple STEAM projects were a lot of fun. My family was rained out of our apple orchard trip, but I still planned on doing apple experiments and art creation.

Learning about the Scientific Method

I used the BrianPop Scientific Method form to introduce the scientific method to my class. It's a mixed age group at a homeschool co-op, so most of them had heard of the scientific method before. Then we followed the idea in Coffee Cups and Crayons. Instead of testing acids against bases, instead I asked the simple question, "Which liquid can I put on the apples to slow down the oxidation process?" Many students in the class knew the answer to this too. But together we talked about what the hypothesis could be, and we learned the vocabulary for control and variable as we set up the experiment.   Although I knew that the lemon juice would be the best result, I was surprised by how gross the vinegar became!

Engineering with Apples

After our mini-lab discussion, I set the kids at creating. They truly loved building with the apples, and by the time the hour was up, sure enough, all the apples were likewise gone! Buildling with apples was an amazing idea from Fun at Home with Kids. I loved how some of the kids were competing to make the highest tower, another wanted the most sturdy, and yet another insisted he was just making "modern art." I've posted on apples before. Here are some more great learning ideas and activities using apples.    

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