Poolside STEM

We had a fantastic summer. I truly feel that we savored every drop of summer this year. I’m sad to see it go, but I am happy that we made so many memories and new friends. As the days get shorter and nights cooler, and as we start to turn our minds to corn mazes, apple picking, pumpkin pie, and cider donuts, I wanted to share with you one last summer activity.

Do you know how parents always joke that their children enjoy the cardboard box more than the gift that came in the box? Well, this activity sort of reminds me of that.

We spent the week before Labor Day at my parents’ place in the mountains. The week was such a beautiful one that we were rarely indoors. We spent most of our waking hours poolside. At the beginning of summer, the pool’s storage box was overflowing with colorful pool noodles, rafts, and pool toys. By summer’s end, however, the storage box looked like the Island of Misfit Toys. The noodles were faded and cracked, rafts deflated, and the toys broken.

One example is this toy, which was fully assembled and operational at the beginning of the summer:
Pre-Labor Day, however, the above toy was ruined, reduced to what looked like large-scale tinker toys.

When we arrived at the pool that Monday afternoon before Labor Day, my children immediately ran to the storage box in search of some pool fun.

“Everything is broken!” Seuss declared.

And then they set to work. They emptied the storage box of its contents and had an absolute blast… and the fun continued for the entire week. Who needs functional toys when you have a bunch of busted pieces and some pool noodles??

They made various rafts…

… and raft-forts…

… and like-minded STEM-crazy friends…

… and a week of memories!

In addition, my little poppies and their new friends provided hours of entertainment for the retired poolside crowd, who thanked us repeatedly for coming.