Engineering Adventures, our flexible engineering curriculum for grades 3-5, helps kids learn and practice 21st century skills  as they collaborate, communicate, solve problems, and share their solutions with their peers while embarking on the Engineering Design Process. Our newest unit, In Good Hands: Engineering Space Gloves, challenges learners to engineer gear for NASA astronauts!

To develop the 21st century skills all learners need to succeed in school and life, we must foster digital literacy and computational thinking skills. That’s why we’re expanding students’ STEM knowledge with brand new computer science units, designed to integrate with existing Engineering is Elementary units. To ensure that these units will work for all learners, we’re seeking elementary educators who are interested in pilot testing them in their own classrooms. In exchange for your feedback, materials and a stipend will be provided.

According to EdWeek, STEM jobs are predicted to grow at a faster rate between 2014 and 2024 than jobs overall. With these stats, districts need STEM curricula that unlock important 21st century skills and open doors to a world of possibilities for their students. Engineering provides opportunities for schools and districts to do just that.

With sixty-five percent of scientists and graduate students surveyed reporting their interest in science began before middle school (it always existed or began in elementary school), it’s becoming more and more crucial to start engineering instruction early. Schools need to get kids into the engineering pipeline when they’re young, before it becomes an afterthought.

Over the past three years, a partnership between EiE and MathWorks, the Natick-based software company, has helped teachers across Massachusetts gain the confidence and skills they need to implement integrated STEM. We’re thrilled that MathWorks sees the importance of showing young learners that anyone can solve problems and be an engineer, and that the company continues to support initiatives that fund professional development experiences and materials that will help educators create a generation of problem solvers for years to come.

Children are natural engineers — and encouraging their skills early is essential. It might seem intimidating, but engineering is simply using math and science — and creativity — to build technology that solves problems. Engineering gives very young kids that confidence they need to believe they can make a difference. How can parents engage their kids in engineering? What does age-appropriate engineering look like? EiE and Bright Horizons are partnering together to host a parent-friendly webinar, Engineering in Early Education, to answer those questions and more!