Understand rules to follow when investigating and exploring.
“I’ve got some acorns and some water!" announces five-year-old Gabriela, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Who wants to make potions with me?” “What’s a potion?” asks Amara as she jumps off of her swing and heads over to see what Gabriela has in mind. “You mix things up, like a recipe,” Gabriela explains. “Sometimes the […]
“Will you read this first?” Rowan pleads as she moves The Most Magnificent Maker's A to Z to the top of the pile of books that the children have chosen for their morning story time session. "It's my favorite." I love that book," agrees Josephine. "Her dog always helps her." “She reminds me of us,” […]
At the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference in November 2024, our own David Banzer, PhD—a postdoctoral fellow at the UIC College of Education—presented Connecting the E and M in STEM: Supporting Early Mathematics through Engineering Design. This hands-on breakout session highlighted the importance of incorporating engineering concepts and activities into […]
"Get ready . . . there's a big crash coming! I know this voice. It’s coming from four-year-old James, and it's the voice of an early engineering explorer about to attempt something slightly risky and, most likely, destructive. "Come on, James, DO it!" commands Nora, giggling with excitement and anticipation. "Ready . . .? " […]
"I found an empty nest! Can we keep it?" Owen's joyful discovery captures everyone's attention. Three-year-old Daniela comes running. "Are there eggs?" she asks her older and wiser five-year-old friend. "Can I see it?” "No eggs, just an old nest," Owen tells Daniela before looking up at me imploringly. "Can we please keep it?" He handles the […]
In this lesson, children will design and build models of treehouses.
In this lesson children will experiment with a simple lever setup to see if they can lift a heavy object off of the floor with just one finger.
In this lesson, children will use a variety of open-ended materials to create engineering designs of houses and then construct and test their designs.
In this lesson, children will take the Pipe Cleaner Tower Challenge and compete to see who can build the tallest freestanding tower with 15 pipe cleaners.
In this lesson, children will learn that designing a skyscraper involves choosing the best materials and arranging them in the best way to keep the structure stable as it grows taller and taller.