The STEM Backpacks can be used to supplement literacy and STEM development from home. Each includes books, materials for STEM play, and an activity guide. Backpacks are sponsored by Lee County Extension Office and The Iowa STEM Council. Backpacks may be checked out for one week, one per family.
Marvelous Munching
Includes:
- Activity Guide & MyPlate Chart
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
- From Seed to Strawberry by Mari Schuh
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Storytelling Kit
- Taste Testing Chart
- Healthy Helpings: A MyPlate game
Magic Eye
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- Red Fox by Eric Carle
- Magic Eye: A New Way of Looking at the World by NE Enterprises
- Houdini's Magic Coloring Book
- Melissa and Doug Magic Trick Kit
- Eye: How it Works by David Macaulay
- Model of an Eye
Curious Coding
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- Hello Ruby Adventures in Coding by Linda Liukas
- Code & Go™ Robot Mouse Activity Set
- Story of Coding by James Floyd Kelly
Bee and Me
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- Bee & Me by Alison Jay
- Bee-Bot® Programmable Robot
- Flower and Hive Pictures
- Bee-Bot Ruler
- Explore My World: Honey Bees by Jill Esbaum
Humpty Dumpty
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat
- DUPLO® Blocks or Nesting Cups or Stacking Blocks OR Humpty Dumpty's Wall Game
- Soft Humpty Dumpty
- Move It: Movement, Forces and You by Adrienne Mason
Super Slinky
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- The Marvelous Thing That Came From a Spring by Gilbert Ford
- Slinkys
- Stopwatch
- Slinky Data Sheet
- Slinky Innovators by Lee Slater
Fabulous Five Senses
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- Flotsam by David Wiesner
- Five Senses Data Sheet
- Mystery Bag
- Microscope & Accessories
- Mystery Capsules
- Smell Containers
- My Five Senses by Aliki
Building Bridges
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- A Book of Bridges Here to There and Me to You by Cheryl Keely
- Wooden Railway with Bridges
- Bridges by Katie Marsico
Curious Contraptions
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- Just Like Rube Goldberg by Sarah Aronson
- The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble
- Stop Watch
- Ruler
- Create-A-Chain-Reaction
Fabulous Fractions
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- Fraction Fun by David Adler
- Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin
- Marker Board and Marker
- Pizza Fraction Fun Game
Magnificent Magnets
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- What Makes A Magnet? by Franklyn M. Branley
- Magnet Kit
- String and Pencil
- Data Sheets
Perfect Patterns
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- I See A Pattern Here by Bruce Goldstone
- Mysterious Patterns: Finding Fractals in Nature by Sarah C. Campbell
- Wooden Pattern Blocks
- Tangram Picture Matching Cards
Amazing Iowa
Includes:
- Activity Guide
- Good Night Iowa by Adam Gamble, Mark Jasper
- Spin by Rebecca Janni
- Amazing Iowa Women by Katy Swalwell, Ph.D.
- Handouts:
- Make an A-to-Z Zine
- Printable Zine template
- How to do an oral history interview
- 3 Iowa maps
- Reading Tips
- Steam Play
- Printed A-to-Z Zine worksheets
- Printed blank Iowa maps
- Printed Checkout Iowa Backpacks sheets