I’ve had some exciting changes to my website you might have noticed over the last few months: I’ve updated my logo, and added products to my website!
Logo update
I decided to update my logo to one that is more in-line with the current content of my blog. My original logo had the tagline: “Inspiring women engineers, moms and kids who love STEM.” That tagline was relevant to my content for many years, but these days my blog is solely focused on STEAM activities for kids, so I wanted my new tagline to reflect that. Also, I’ve transitioned from using the term STEM to STEAM (see the reasons why in this post), and the old logo still had STEM in the tagline.
Besides the tagline, I wanted a more playful look of the new logo. I think the new look better represents the family-friendly nature of the blog.
I’d love to know what you think of the new logo. Here is a side by side comparison of the old vs new logo:
Products added to the shop page
Another exciting change to my website is I have added products! After over 10 years of blogging and making no income, my blog finally has enough monthly visitors that I had to upgrade my hosting services plan. It costs more per year to run the blog now, so I looked into ways to cover that cost.
The first thing I added was advertisements to my blog from Google AdSense. I’m sure you’ve noticed them while reading this post. I put off adding ads for as long as I could because I hate seeing constant ads as much as you do, but it was either find a way to get passive income from the blog or shut it down.
I also really wanted a product to call my own related to the blog. I would love to turn all of my STEAM activities for kids blog posts into a book. But the thought of creating a book is overwhelming (and I have 130 STEAM activities!), so I wanted to do something more simple for now.
That’s when I came up with the idea of themed printable pdf activity packs. I have many activities with similar themes: water, outdoors, balloons, holidays, edible, five senses, etc… So I grouped the STEAM activities by theme, simplified the blog posts into 2-page (and occasionally 3-page) easy to follow printable pages.
I like sharing our personal stories and pictures on the blog, but I know a lot of people want to skip all that and get right to the activity, and that is what you will get with these printable packs. There are no stories or pictures, but I do have a QR code with a link to the blog post so you can go there for the pictures and stories if you do want to see an example.
Here’s what you can expect from the activity packs: title page, table of contents, introduction pages including about me, what is STEAM, what to expect, tips for success, and the theme overview, followed by the activities. The activities will all have the same format: title, materials, QR code to the blog post, safety, procedure, and STEAM concepts learned.
Some activities may be in more than one pack because they fit multiple themes. For example the activity “Rescue an Animal from an Ice Balloon” is in the Water, Outdoor, and Balloon pack because it fits all 3 themes. Some activities will be in only one pack, and other activities will be in multiple packs.
If you want all 130 activities, I will eventually make a pack with every activity. Keep checking back to the shop, because I will continue to add more packs as I complete them over the next few weeks and months. I hope you find a pack that will add value to your family’s daily lives and consider purchasing one.
Here are the product links for the 4 packs I have released so far (and more to come), or you can head to my store to see more.
My older daughter wanted me to do science experiments at her 8th birthday party! I’m currently trying to select my most entertaining experiments for her party. I plan to take pictures during the party and share how it goes in a future blog post. I will also group the activities we use into a birthday party pack, so you can plan a similar science birthday party using the same activities. I plan to print the activity pack for all the guests at her party to give them as a party favor, so they can do all the activities we demonstrate anytime they want at home. 🙂
I hope you like the changes I have made to my logo and by adding the products! I’d love to hear what you think about the logo and the new products in the comments below. Will you be buying the activity packs for yourself or someone else as a gift?
Yay Emily! Love the new logo. Can’t wait to do the holiday activities!
Thank you Kara! ❤️