STEMventures Exploration Kits

It’s a STEM Exploration Library!


Exploration Kit Request Form


 Our STEMventure Exploration Kits make it easy for you to transform any informal or formal lesson into a fun, hands-on STEM learning opportunity!

We’ve gathered the materials and information for you, and with an Exploration Kit, you can incorporate science learning fun right into your teaching or activity. These kits range from curriculum enhancement that integrate Indigenous Knowledge to hands-on STEM activities that engage all learners.

Our STEMventures are an important tool for institutions and organizations that need science instruction support. Access to STEMventures is a huge benefit to children and students, encouraging engagement with their science identity and building their curiosity.

If you’d like to dive deeper into science, bring a SD Discovery Center Museum Educator to you through our STEMventure Traveling Programs!

If you have any questions about our Exploration Kits, please email info@sd-discovery.org.



EXPLORATION KIT RATES:
$200, includes full kit of materials and instructions, plus shipping within South Dakota
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RATE DISCOUNTS:
SDDC Member Discount: 20% | $160
Nonprofit Organization Discount: 15% | $170
Sponsored Counties Discount (see below): 50% | $100
Please Note: Only one discount can be applied at a time.
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SD Discovery Center Membership yields BIG savings; become a member today!

Exploration Kit Request Form

STEMventures Special: Sponsored Counties
All schools and nonprofit groups from the following counties receive 50% off STEMventures Programs thanks to support from the Bankwest Foundation: Charles Mix, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Haakon, Hughes, Hutchinson, Jackson, Jones, Lawrence, Lyman, McCook, Pennington, Potter, Stanley, Sully, Tripp, Todd, and Walworth.

Please address your thank you note to the following address:
Bankwest
Attn: Charles Burke III
420 S Pierre St.
Pierre, SD 57501



STEMventure Exploration Kits
Our STEMventures Exploration Kits are for formal and informal educators to check out. They include curriculum enhancement that integrates Indigenous Knowledge and hands-on science learning activities that follow our STEM Learning Pathways. 

We are working to increase access to STEMventures through our Sponsored Counties efforts, email info@sd-discovery.org to learn more and to suggest potential partners.

Please note:
Our Exploration Kits are undergoing a BIG overhaul, meaning that this list will continue to change, so please contact us if you have any questions or can’t find what you are looking for. You can also email info@sd-discovery.org to let us know if there is a subject you want us to develop an Exploration Kit for!

Exploration Kit Request Form




The headings below will jump to your STEM emphasis when you click on them:

Downsizing: Exploring Nano
ANY GRADE | 6 ACTIVITIES

Zoom into a tiny world full of surprises! Nano lets us explore and study the most fundamental aspects of our world.

BIG Problems, tiny Tech
ANY GRADE | 6 ACTIVITIES

Nano isn’t just in the lab; we can find it everywhere! Explore how nanotechnology solves BIG problems.

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Exploration Kit Request Form




Paper Towel Testing
GRADE 5-8 | 4 ACTIVITIES

This unit is a stimulating introduction to consumer science and controlled experimentation. Students rank the qualities of four paper towel brands, compare the costs of each, and determine which brand is the best buy.

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Exploration Kit Request Form




Frog Math: Predict, Ponder, Play
GRADE K-3 | 6 ACTIVITIES

This series of lively activities jumps off from one of the well-known Frog and Toad stories, The Lost Button. The story leads to free exploration then sorting and classifying buttons. A Frog Pond board game helps students develop strategic thinking skills, and the Hop to the Pond game is an experiment in probability and statistics. 

In All Probability: Investigations in Probability and Data Analysis
GRADE 3-6 | 12 ACTIVITIES

Students gain confidence in these concepts as they investigate chance, gather and analyze data, make predictions, and draw conclusions. The unit provides a solid basis for the development of much-needed real-life understandings and skills.

Math Around the World
GRADE 4-8 | 8 ACTIVITIES

This stimulating unit uses games and puzzles from many continents to explore mathematics in a multicultural, international context. Each game can be presented as a two- or three-session activity or at a stand-alone learning station. Maps and historical connections provide a social studies element.

Math on the Menu
GRADE 3-5 | 5 ACTIVITIES

This unit provides strong math learning experiences in a real-world context, as students plan and expand menus, determine ingredients, analyze costs, set prices, and design a restaurant floor plan. Students work with data organization and analysis, explore aspects of statistics, and strengthen their sense of numbers, math, and money.

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Exploration Kit Request Form



Our Teaching Mission
All SD Discovery Center programs deliver fun, hands-on exploration that builds passion for and knowledge of science across generations; students, teachers, families, citizens.

Our Teaching Framework: The Learning Pathways
Our teaching framework ensures a high-quality class standard that focuses on lasting effects to help students find their path and hone their talents beyond school while developing college and/or career readiness skills (collaboration, creativity, communication and critical thinking) to grow a STEM workforce for South Dakota.

Our programs and kits offer specialty tracks for every age level and allow for age-appropriate lessons that build upon each other along the following paths:

  • EXPLORE: Naturalist, Storytelling, Environment
  • SCIENCE: Life Science, Physical Science, Space Science
  • TECH: Engineering, Coding, Entertainment 
  • HEALTH: Fitness, Cooking, Gardening


Equity in Education
We believe every child deserves access to hands-on science education! Our nonprofit rates and the generosity of donors and sponsors eliminate barriers to STEM learning and lead to authentic experiences for children and families in need.