A natural fit
Young kids are natural engineers. They love to build, knock down, build better, and share the results of their work. In a nutshell, that is what engineering is all about. Early education programs are starting to connect these activities to engineering, but it is still early days. In the broader STEAM world, too, people from all over are thinking about how to make these kinds of connections.
The “E” in STEM, out loud
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One of our earliest books was designed to explicitly connect young kids’ play interests to the products of engineering that shape their worlds. What’s Engineering? Color & Discover is a coloring and activity book that is meant to help kids see the world in a new way — as shaped and built by engineers. As a holiday special, we’re offering it for sale now at 30 percent off, using the discount code 30%OFF4YOU in our online shop.
It works to make “engineering” an understandable, accessible activity to kids. If kids learn from a young age that they can “engineer” things themselves in a world largely shaped by “engineering,” they are more likely to consider the field as a course of study and work, when such decisions arise in their later lives.
Comments we got from people using the book told us we had hit good marks with the book:
“A terrific job of getting the book at the 4-6 age level. I don’t think there’s anything else out there quite like it,” said one director of a Department of Defense early elementary STEM program.
“Great resource for our Engineering Family Weekend. Kids had great fun coloring and learned to see the world in a new way,” according to an engineering society leader.
What engineers do, kid-style
In the book, we identified seven kid-friendly ways to understand how engineers work to make our lives better. The coloring and activity pages all expand on these basic concepts:
Engineers make things that are tall.
They make things that are fast.
They make things that are fun.
Engineers help us learn.
Engineers help us play.
They work to protect Earth.
They help save lives.
A holiday package
And to flesh out the learning that the book can spark, we have picked out toys that match up with each of these concepts. As a whole package, the coloring book plus the toys could serve as a play-based, hands-on introduction to engineering for kids at just the ages when they are most receptive to a message about how important and rewarding the work of “engineering” can be. All toys are appropriate for preschool to early elementary years.
Tall
Magna—Qubix: A new product from the makers of all-time great STEM toy, Magna Tiles, Magna—Qubix come in 3-D pyramids, cubes, prisms, and other shapes. They stick together magnetically with the same satisfying snap! as their older siblings and will enchant kids and adults alike.
Fast
GeoSmart FlipBot: Using magnetic and snap-on connections, kids can build many variations on a battery-powered dune buggy or planetary rover with this kit. Unlike many build-it-yourself vehicle kits, this one promises to stay in one piece when it actually starts moving.
Fun
Roller Coaster Challenge: This building kit combines the structure of challenge cards with open-ended design opportunities into roller coaster-building fun and games. Once kids build the track, they use leftover pieces to make a car that can run from start to finish.
Learning
Science Experiment Toolbox: Not your typical toy toolbox — this one comes with six science experiment cards, an app to help parents help their kids, and 32 rugged pieces that illustrate elementary principles of force, leverage, inclines, and so on.
Playing
Snap Circuits FM Radio Kit: Not as old-school as it might sound, this build-it-yourself radio kit delivers learning about circuits in an accessible package. And the payoff is immediate and semi-magical — lassoing invisible radio signals in the air to bring sound into the play-room. Kids will need some help reading directions.
Protecting Earth
A Green Place to Be: Beautifully illustrated story about how Central Park came to be, with pictures and text underscoring the work and planning that go into preserving green space and the benefits of doing so.
Helping save lives
Totally Squishy from Head to Toe: Biomedical engineers-to-be need a full understanding of human anatomy to build tools and devices to help people live fuller, healthier lives. A foot tall, with 36 parts, this model of the human body is both fascinating and icky enough to capture kids’ attention.
And, finally
Any or all of these toys match up well with What’s Engineering? Color & Discover. And the book also includes guidance for parents or educators on extending the activities in the book into more discussion and learning about how engineering shapes not only kids’ lives but also everyone else’s. Get a copy of the book now for 30 percent off, pick up a toy or two, and make engineering a part of the holidays for you and the early learners in your life.
For more ideas about STEM-related toys and fun, look at these posts from years past:
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Eric Iversen is VP for Learning and Communications at Start Engineering. He has written and spoken widely on engineering education in the K-12 arena. You can write to him about this topic, especially when he gets stuff wrong, at eiversen@start-engineering.com.
You can also follow along on Twitter @StartEnginNow.
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