STEM
STEM Sunday: Measuring
June 21, 2015 08:51 PM Filed in: Spotlight Story
For our first STEM Sunday, we are going to do the science and math of milliners (hatmakers). It's time to pull out our measuring tapes and determine head sizes. We will run it a bit like an experiment though. First, I will ask the kids if they think we all have the same size head (question). Then, they will guess order of head sizes in our family from big to small (hypothesis). Next, we will collect the data by measuring the circumference and length of our heads (experiment). Finally, we will analyze the data and answer a few questions: 1) Whose head is the biggest? 2) Whose head is the smallest? 3) How do we compare to the averages provided? (analysis and conclusion). I've provided a list of average head sizes below to make your comparisons.
Depending on how excited the tots get about experimenting, we might come up with a few more questions and hypotheses about hats. 1) Could we find a hat that fits everyone in our family? 2)How does the length of our head compare to the circumferences of our heads? Have fun making discoveries about your heads!
UPDATE:
We had a blast measuring and made some discoveries. As I already knew, I have a small head coming in a whole inch and a half below average adult head size! The tots are right on track with their head sizes. Of course we couldn't just stop at measuring heads, we measured and compared lots of our body parts. The most surprising find was that Tot 2 is actually bigger around on certain body parts including his forearm and neck. It makes sense because Tot 1 is such a skinny mini, but it was fun to measure and know for a fact that little brother is measuring up to big sister! Tot 1 had so much fun measuring that she grabbed a ribbon and decided to make her own measuring tape. She's still too young to have made correct units on the ribbon on her own, but i was proud to see her initiate making her own tool. I hope your tots had fun with this activity too!
Depending on how excited the tots get about experimenting, we might come up with a few more questions and hypotheses about hats. 1) Could we find a hat that fits everyone in our family? 2)How does the length of our head compare to the circumferences of our heads? Have fun making discoveries about your heads!
Average Head Sizes (Circumference)
- Preemie - 12 inches
- Newborn - 14 inches
- Baby (6mo) - 16 inches
- Toddler (12mo) - 18 inches
- Child or Teen - 20 inches
- Adult - 22.5 inches
UPDATE:
We had a blast measuring and made some discoveries. As I already knew, I have a small head coming in a whole inch and a half below average adult head size! The tots are right on track with their head sizes. Of course we couldn't just stop at measuring heads, we measured and compared lots of our body parts. The most surprising find was that Tot 2 is actually bigger around on certain body parts including his forearm and neck. It makes sense because Tot 1 is such a skinny mini, but it was fun to measure and know for a fact that little brother is measuring up to big sister! Tot 1 had so much fun measuring that she grabbed a ribbon and decided to make her own measuring tape. She's still too young to have made correct units on the ribbon on her own, but i was proud to see her initiate making her own tool. I hope your tots had fun with this activity too!
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