American pop culture has always been “stuck” on slime — from The Blob (1958) to Ghostbusters (1984) to Stephen King’s short story, “Gray Matter” (1973) — and youth are no exception to the rule. Here are some ways to use slime to get youth excited about summer learning.

The internet is full of “STEM Activities” that promise to stimulate youths’ curiosity, spark their interests, and teach them STEM. However, not all activities are created equal. I've compiled some of my own criteria to help you make every STEM learning opportunity top-notch.

Most young people are out of school for about 10 weeks during the summer months. What do those out-of-school hours mean?

What activity says “summer” more than roasting some s’mores? Discover how to add a STEM twist to the traditional summer snack by helping youth design their own solar-powered oven.

Tinkering has caught a lot of attention in recent years, and for good reason. Tinkering, like engineering, allows youth a chance to learn by pursuing design work of their choice in multi-disciplinary, STEM fields.

Dough-based circuit activities happen to be one of my favorite STEAM activities. Youth learn about electricity by manipulating salt-based dough and LED lights. It’s very open-ended, exploratory, and science-focused.

Reflection is key to connecting learning to real-life experience. Giving youth time to talk, draw, or explain their thinking makes learning “stick.” This month I’m borrowing a great strategy from Ms. Beth, who teaches robotics and STEM with girls in Omaha, Nebraska.

Yes, STEM subjects are challenging. And yes, it’s nearly impossible to change the difficulty of these subjects. But as educators, we can strive to make these topics more fun and engaging to youth of all ages.

It can be emotionally taxing to work with youth in out-of-school time. The less structured environments that come with informal education, although exceptional for allowing youth room for creativity and exploration, also lend well to chaos.