As summer is winding down and school is on the horizon for teachers, you’re likely thinking about how to decorate your science classroom. The thought of figuring out how exactly to do this may sound overwhelming, so we’ve gathered eight fun ideas for you.
Do you have projects from last year that you might be able to pin up as artwork? A high school teacher from Florida told us in Labster’s Community Campus: “I use student-created materials to decorate my classroom. I feel that my content is better received and more receptive if students create what is displayed. It creates an environment of ownership.”
Did you ever ask as a student, “Why are we doing this?” You can show them how relevant your science subject is by relating it to what’s happening in the news. Use sites like ScienceNews.org. They have tabs for life, space, and earth science as well as physics. For example, you can use the recent magnificent James Webb telescope images!
It can be fun to come up with something creative! You could choose a theme to go on the door, bulletin board, and anywhere else you decorate. Perhaps it’s space, ocean, or forensic themed. Get students excited about what they’re going to learn with a theme.
Memes may seem silly, but they actually communicate ideas, feelings, and thoughts that many people have or can relate to. You can share them by communicating scientific concepts, such as this Scientific Method meme from A Science Enthusiast. It covers lots of popular memes! Students love to communicate using memes, so why can’t you use them, too?
Choose a board or door that indicates some career paths your students can choose. Many of them don’t know how many paths there are in STEM! The world needs more individuals in STEM careers, and students could get excited about that. Examples may include pharmacologists, epidemiologists, environmental scientists, and more.
If you’re using Labster in your science course this year, get students excited by sharing what’s to come! Utilize Labster’s Science Image Library to share relevant images. This is available as part of every Labster instructor's subscription, just like simulations, lab manuals, lab reports, and short science explainer videos. For example, Animal Genetics.
Different colors stimulate different reactions in students. According to ColorPsychology.com:
Red is associated with energy and power.
Green is associated with growth and harmony.
Blue is associated with peacefulness and imagination.
Orange is associated with enthusiasm and creativity.
Yellow is associated with energy and intellect.
Which color best suits what you’re looking to cultivate in your students this year?
Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, has degrees in Physics and Engineering, which allowed him to engineer a suit where he could fly and fight with superhuman strength. He may be a fictional superhero, but there’s some inspiration there, even if it’s just his passion for learning STEM!
This summer, we released simulations with a sci-fi theme and discussed how teachers could use them in the classroom. Check out the blog post. Who said learning couldn’t be fun?
What’s your favorite way to decorate your science classroom?
What subject-specific decorations do you like to use?
What kind of classroom community do you intend to create this year? How can classroom decorations support your plan?
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