50+ Resources for STEAM

10 Min Read  •  STEAM

Finding resources for STEAM integration that are of high quality can be a daunting task.

We thought it would be a good idea to gather our personal “go-to” lists for resources for STEAM and compile them into one place for you to reference whenever you’re looking to integrate the arts across the curriculum.  Here’s our 50+ resources for STEAM (yes…over 50!!) websites, books and apps for STEAM. It’s the ultimate collection of STEAM resources, over 50+ resources for STEAM. Shall we?

** Last updated on October 24, 2018

WEBSITE RESOURCES FOR STEAM

Build with Chrome 

Explore design, engineering, technology and the arts with the cool new project by Google and Lego.  Who doesn’t like to play with Legos??

Early Childhood STEAM

The Wolf Trap Early Childhood STEM through the Arts initiative is pioneering ways in which our youngest learners can engage in STEAM processes to boost their chances for success in the 21st century.

Stanford’s Design School

This wiki, developed specifically for K-12 educators, is a wealth of information on how to implement design thinking into your own curriculum.  Level projects allow for learning and implementation at any grade.

Visual Mind Mapping

This is a fantastic blog with lots of ways to use mind mapping.  From different types of visual mind maps to a library of searchable maps, this is a great tool for students.

Times Machine

This free resource from the New York Times lets you view and print newspaper articles from the 1850’s-the early 1900s.  Includes photographs and major headlines. Great resource for an integrated lesson!

Wonderville

This free website from the NGSS offers games, lessons and more connecting science across all content areas, including music and art.

Deep Field Badges

One of the best STEAM tools we have ever found for music education.  This website shares resources, strategies, ideas and games on connecting STEAM in and through music.

Makey Makey

Makey Makey is an invention kit that can turn everyday objects into touch pads and combine them with the internet. Using bananas for piano keys? Worth a look!

Prism K-12

This free online resource is curated by the Phillips Collection and is totally dedicated to bringing teachers the tools they need to be successful in implementing Arts Integration.

MyStory by Google

Type in your characters, give them dialogue and add some music.  Then watch as student stories come to life on the screen.  Great free tool that can connect with drama, visual art, media arts, and music.

DevArt: Art Made with Code

This was a competition that allowed people to submit entries of art that they had developed using computer programming or “code”.  While the competition is now closed, you are able to look through the entries to gain inspiration for new creativity and technology projects.

Cardboarder Challenge

Do you have any scrap cardboard lying around?  Then YOU have the makings of a fantastic STEAM project.  This site explores all of the possibilities for using cardboard to design, create and prototype sculptures and artistic solutions.

iPads in the Artroom

This fantastic website is a treasure trove of information, ideas and practical resources for bringing iPads to life through the Arts.

STEM to STEAM Locator

Find out where the advocates, educators and researchers of STEAM are in the world and add yourself to the interactive online map.

EdPuzzle Website

Want to try a flipped classroom model, but aren’t sure where to start of how to find/create videos?  EdPuzzle makes it easy.  This is a great site both for beginners who are searching for videos to use and for those creating them for their students.

Blender

This free website allows students to create their own 3D animation films. They can use models and sculptures and transform them into animation.  Or, they can render the entire thing from scratch. Excellent for middle or high school!

Starry Night Sky Chart

Have students chart the actual constellations in their own backyard with this great website.  They could easily create their own Starry Night portrait using the constellations they find!

TheoryTab

This takes music theory and makes the math connections visible and audible. By combining guitar tab with video and visual representations, the connections on this site to other content areas are endless.

National Gallery of Art

This website contains so many art and arts integration lessons for free to educators using some of the world’s most remarkable pieces.

Make: Online Magazine

This site is a goldmine of all things maker-movement.  You’ll find an entire section dedicated to education and even a Maker Playbook that provides you with the steps to create your own Makerspace at school – free!

STEAM Art Lessons

The amazing Tricia Fuglestad has compiled this free resource that anyone can access with over 99 STEAM lessons to try.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met’s educator resource site contains guidebooks, lessons and units for integrated study using the inspiring works located in the museum.

APPS/MULTIMEDIA

Clips App

This is a free app from Apple that helps students use media arts, graphics, and audio to create new stories. Users can add annotations or live content – like Twitter feeds, Google Maps, photos, news feeds, and live links – directly onto video and audio files.  The result is a playable video that behaves like a miniature website.

6 Minutes to Understanding the New Core Arts Standards

This video, provided by the National Association of Music Educators, gives you a concise and helpful overview of the new standards being released.

Ken Burns iPad App

Ken Burns has studied and documented history in a beautiful way for over two decades.  now, his collection of over 136 hours of footage can be mixed and matched in this brand new app.

Building Students’ Creative Confidence

In this 12-minute talk, David Kelly of IDEO fame discusses how we can help people discover that we ALL have a creative voice.

Rework: Phillip Glass Remix App

This app, available in the iTunes store, allows you to manipulate Phillip Glass’ music based upon how you move the visuals.

eMaze: Free Presentation Tool

eMaze is a new, free web tool that provides a different way to present your ideas and material outside of a typical Powerpoint.

Tynker

This site helps students and teachers learn how to code ANYTHING.  Games, apps, programs, etc. You could use this as a way for students to design their own presentation or portfolio of work.

My Simple Show

Organize lessons, share student presentations, engage in Skype collaborations and have everything built into one platform?  Yes, please!

SeeSaw

This app allows you and your students to build an online portfolio of work with just the snap of a digital picture and a few clicks of a button.  Great for assessment collection and review.

Chromville App

This app, available in iTunes and Google Play, takes the drawings you paint and then uses augmented reality to create a 3D story adventure using your creation.

Planboard App

This app helps to make your planning a cinch with the ability to connect standards and collaborate with other educators. Perfect for integration!

Starry Night Interactive App

This app allows you to touch VanGogh’s masterpieces and add movement to the original version of the artwork.

Make, Create, Innovate

Want some fresh ideas for primary, secondary and early childhood STEAM projects?  Check out the great ideas featured on this site.

STEAM Education Explorer Flipboard

Leland Melvin, a NASA astronaut, has put together a comprehensive clipboard for STEM and STEAM from across the web.  This is a fantastic resource for articles, videos, and websites all related to STEAM.

BOOKS/RESOURCES for STEAM

Daily Rituals: A Book for Artists

We’re all artists and in this great read, you’ll discover the unique little rituals that some of the most influential artists, musicians, and writers used to help them get into their creative space.

No Permission Required: Bringing STEAM to Life in K-12 Schools

Providing both case studies from schools who have made the shift to STEAM and lessons/assessments for grades K-12, this is a practical book for anyone looking to bring STEAM to their school, district or classroom.

Invent to Learn

This book shares practical strategies for creating an environment of making, tinkering and engineering in your classroom.  A great way to think about how to embed design into instruction!

Assessing 21st Century Skills

Particularly for developing authentic arts-based assessments, this is a helpful book for ensuring your assessments provide for true measurement of growth.

STEM to STEAM Method Cards

We found these incredible cards on Pinterest through Peter Simon Design and are totally thrilled.  The website includes many resources for STEAM for using the cards, including the five categories they address: discover, evolve, create, understand and design.

Show Your Work

If you liked the book Steal Like an Artist, you’re going to love this follow up by Austin Kleon.  With reminders like “Think Process, Not Product” and “Learn to Take a Punch”, this is a book we all need to have with us on our teaching and art making journeys.

Rory’s Story Cubes

These dice are printed with images, so you can let your students’ imaginations run wild with story development, tableau, composition and more.  These work well for whole-group or center instruction.

ExploraLab Book

Exploratorium has taken their website and created a book of activities and ready-made resources for STEAM that you can use right away in your classroom.

Zoomy – Handheld Microscope

Using hands-on technology like this is an incredible way to get students more engaged with the arts.  Try viewing fingerprints in more detail and then viewing the work of Chuck Close.  Or, view the pads on instrument keys up close and personal.  At just over $30/each, this can be on anyone’s wish list.

Inventing a Better World: Design Thinking through STEAM Education

This new eBook from art educator and STEAM advocate Theresa McGee is available on iTunes for FREE and contains some great ways to integrate STEAM into your classroom immediately.

Creating Meaning through Literature and the Arts

This book incorporates Common Core, new strategies and work for the field of teaching literature through Arts Integration.

TinkerLab

TinkerLab.com author Rachelle Doorley has capture the same magic of her site into a new book.  Bursting with plenty of ideas for bridging inquiry, art, science, engineering and math, this is a book you’ll want to keep handy.

Come Look with Me

This book contains 10 masterpieces, as well as informational text about each painting and the artist.  Additionally, each painting also includes several essential questions that you can use to explore arts techniques and media. Great Common Core connections with this resource.

Graphic Design Thinking

This book is written based upon the premise that creativity can be a learned sill.  With that in mind, the information shared here aims to stimulate fresh thinking in order to arrive at viable solutions.

Wreck this Journal

This book encourages you to wreck it and to watch as your own creativity evolves through the mess.  A terrific prompt for all of us and a great idea for our students.

Creating Innovators

This seminal work from Tony Wagner is a must-read if you are looking to begin any sort of maker/creator movement in your school.  He looks at the heart of what makes innovators tick and provides you with practical, exciting ideas for helping your own students become the innovators they were born to be.

Teach Like a Pirate

Author Dave Burgess provides a practical, hands-on workbook for bringing student engagement to life with this popular book.  Easy to read and better yet, easy to implement, this book is a handy guide for boosting creativity right from the start in your classroom.

The Artist’s Way

Author Julia Cameron leads you through a variety of exercises in this book aimed to recharge your creative batteries.

Map Art Lab

This book explores the possibilities of using cartography as a way to explore social studies and other subject areas.  There are weekly exercises designed for use in the classroom, with vivid directions and pictures.

The Art of Tinkering

There are many practical ideas in this book for truly connecting art, science and technology in useful and equitable ways.

Symbols, Signs and Visual Codes

This book takes an in-depth look at how symbols have been used throughout history as a means of conveying beliefs and values.  Includes hundreds of fine art images and how they are used.