Getting Smart: Thinking With Your Hands
In this Getting Smart article Cate Heroman of the Knock Knock Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana discusses how she integrates hands-on STEAM learning at the museum.
They encourage kids to learn through play using modern technology, such as KIBO, in combination with beloved stories—both old and new. Kids listen to stories every day, so logic comes easily when there are characters, a conflict, and a resolution.
The article reads, “STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) is integrated in every single learning zone throughout the museum, just as it is everywhere in life. If there’s a story behind a concept, kids get it. Young learners are more likely to successfully engage in a new concept if it’s tied into something they are already familiar with. For our “Fairy Tale Tech” experience at the Baton Rouge Mini Maker Faire, children’s favorite fairytale came to life when we invited them to create their own characters using open-ended craft materials and cardboard tubes. They attached their fairytale characters to one of our KIBO robots and we taught them how to program the robot to move, shake, dance, and sing. They could also take their character to a stop-motion animation station, to create a short movie of their story.”
See the full article.
