Stock Your

STEM Lab

Setting up a STEM Lab can be expensive and overwhelming! Grab my STEM supply lists and ideas for how to get materials for free.

Your FREE guide to STEM supplies

This image shows worksheets titled "Stock the STEM lab," and "Support our STEM class."

What do I need for a STEM lab? What are the best materials for a STEM classroom? How do I get STEM supplies donated? The setup for STEM activities can be overwhelming and get expensive quickly! Grab this list of basic STEM supplies you should have on hand in your lab and suggestions for how to get them for free or at a steep discount.

What's included in the STEM supplies guide?

  • A list of basic supplies that will allow you to organize many different STEM challenges for your students
  • Suggestions for what supplies to get donated and what should be on your back-to-school supply lists or teacher wishlist
  • Two versions of a letter you can use to request supply donations from your students’ families and community members
  • Suggestions of places to find materials for STEM activities for free or very cheap

How can you use the guide in your classroom?

  • Organize your back-to-school shopping list
  • Get ideas for your student supply lists
  • Put materials on your teacher wishlists
  • Send home the donation requests letter to your students’ families during the first week of school
  • Use the letters to get donations before a specific project that will require a lot of certain supplies
  • Ask the PTO or school leadership to share the donation letter with the community to get more support