FOREWORD

STEAM LAB FOR KIDS is the type of resource that no home, library, or camp should be without. Every adult who spends time around young learners knows the sound of restless footsteps, the fidgeting, hovering, and often slumped shoulders that all precede the question, “What can I do?” While many of us know these as the doorways to exploration and possibility, we don’t all have the time or know-how to design the perfect experience. STEAM Lab for Kids improves every parent or educator’s chance of capitalizing on “What can I do?” moments with over 50 well-curated projects that can help make downtime into “do” time.

The place for reframing how we introduce what STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) looks and feels like is right at home. The value of the “A” in STEAM (art) is to help us realize the critical relationship between creativity and each of the subjects of STEM. Passing are the days where math and science are confined to sterile labs and classrooms. These subjects are alive, they’re all around us, they express and emote, and they unfold in myriad and sometimes messy ways at the kitchen table. When STEM subjects emerge as expressions of our curious minds, the atmosphere is painted with enthusiasm and possibility. A STEAM approach encourages exploration and a new mindset about the upside of failure.

Adults take note: Supporting STEAM does not require you to be an expert. In fact, your learners may benefit even more from your willingness to learn together. Show them that learning is about taking risks, trying things, and diving back in when your first try breaks. STEAM Lab for Kids can easily become a guidebook for all to concepts and phenomena that adult learners might’ve missed the first time around.

My favorite parts of this book are the math projects in unit 5. The irony is that I’m one of those parents who could easily identify to their kids as “not a math person,” but the real story is that I’m still learning and becoming the math person that traditional classroom approaches to math never afforded me.

One of the projects in the technology unit of the book originates from my learning design team at Mouse, where we are constantly testing experiences that close the gap between America’s students and the leading edge of technology and engineering. We work to help a new generation to know STEM as a set of tools that can help each of us to express our ideas and improve our world.

I hope you enjoy digging into STEAM Lab for Kids. Resources like this one help all of us play a part in the high-stakes endeavor to engage a generation in their learning. Have fun!

—Marc Lesser, Senior Director of Learning Design, Mouse