Laying the foundation for a lifetime of creativity and innovation: When young children engage in early engineering activities, they build a strong cognitive foundation for later STEAM learning while developing important traits and life skills such as creativity, observation, problem-solving, persistence, and teamwork.

About Engineering Explorers

Bringing out the engineer in every child

How can we add a second floor to our block house? If we raise this end of our ramp, will our toy truck roll down faster?

Children naturally engage in engineering exploration and discovery early in life. By harnessing their innate curiosity about how things work—and how to make them work better—we can prepare the early learners of today to be the innovators and problem-solvers of tomorrow.

To give early childhood educators the knowledge and skills they need to teach young children how to “think like engineers,” the University of Illinois Chicago College of Education launched the Engineering Explorers Project in 2024 with a generous gift from Marjorie Pelino.

Today, early childhood professionals and parents around the world visit our Engineering Explorers website to learn how to integrate engineering into their early learning environments and activities.

Engineering Explorers has four core objectives:

  1. To give early childhood educators the knowledge and skills they need to teach early engineering
  2. To help early childhood educators set up environments that promote problem- solving and design thinking
  3. To provide engaging activities and lessons that foster the development of early engineering skills
  4. To cultivate scientifically literate citizens who have the skills and knowledge they need to address societal problems and make well-informed decisions about issues such as climate change, public health and technology

We are grateful to Marjorie Pelino for making this pioneering project possible.

Questions or comments? Please contact us at info@engineeringexplorers.org.

About Early Discovery Network

Early Discovery Network helps early childhood educators build the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills they need to create engaging learning experiences for young children.

We specialize in early mathematics, science, engineering, and school readiness, translating research and best practices into approaches educators can use every day. Through professional development workshops, classroom coaching, consultation, and free online learning resources, we support educators and programs in strengthening both teacher knowledge and practice, both in the classroom and in natural spaces.

Early Discovery Network is home to Early Math Counts, Early Science Matters, Engineering Explorers, and Ready Child, a collection of research-informed resources designed specifically for early childhood educators and families.

Our goal is simple: to make high-quality, practical early childhood professional learning accessible and useful, and to help educators turn what they learn into meaningful experiences for young children.

About the University of Illinois Chicago

The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a community of scholars committed to educational equity and social, political and economic parity. UIC develops new knowledge about education that improves teaching, learning and assessment; informs policy and practice; and is valued by the communities that it serves. The university directs its teaching, research and public service to all learners, with an emphasis on learners in urban environments.