Engineering for Littles

More coming soon!

View the Project on GitHub brett935/engineeringforlittles

Engineering for Littles

Welcome to Engineering for Littles – your premier online destination where curiosity meets the wonders of engineering! We bring the world of engineering to life for kids and “littles” everywhere. Our mission is to spark a lifelong love for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) through engaging content, interactive learning experiences, and a treasure trove of resources tailored for young minds.

What We Offer

Connect With Us

Support Our Mission

At Engineering for Littles, we’re dedicated to making engineering accessible and exciting for children worldwide. Support our mission by sharing our site, engaging with our content, and becoming a part of our growing community. Together, we can inspire the next generation of engineers, innovators, and thinkers.

Let’s build a brighter future, one little engineer at a time.

Benefits of STEM Programs for Kids

  1. Fosters Creativity: STEM education encourages children to think creatively and explore solutions in innovative ways.
  2. Builds Problem-Solving Skills: Engaging with STEM subjects helps develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills from an early age.
  3. Encourages Curiosity: STEM programs stimulate children’s natural curiosity about the world around them and how things work.
  4. Improves Academic Performance: Early exposure to STEM can enhance performance in science and math subjects.
  5. Prepares for the Future: Understanding STEM concepts prepares children for a technology-driven future and opens up a wide range of career opportunities.
  6. Enhances Teamwork: Many STEM activities require collaboration, teaching children the value of teamwork and communication.
  7. Develops Persistence: Through experimenting and tackling challenges, kids learn the importance of perseverance and resilience.
  8. Cultivates Lifelong Learning: A foundation in STEM creates a mindset of continuous learning and adaptation to new information and technologies.
  9. Bridges Gender Gaps: Encouraging all children, regardless of gender, to explore STEM subjects can contribute to closing future gender gaps in STEM fields.
  10. Promotes Environmental Stewardship: Learning about scientific principles fosters an understanding and appreciation for the environment and the need for sustainable living.

Simple STEM Experiments to Do at Home

Experiment 1: Homemade Lava Lamp

Learn about chemical reactions by creating a colorful lava lamp using oil, water, food coloring, and effervescent tablets.

Experiment 2: Crystal Growing

Explore saturated solutions by growing your own crystals with just water and salt or sugar.

Experiment 3: Magnetic Fields

Visualize magnetic fields using iron filings and magnets to understand the principles of magnetism.

Experiment 4: Build a Volcano

Create a model volcano and use baking soda and vinegar to simulate an eruption, teaching chemical reactions and geology.

Experiment 5: Egg Drop Challenge

Design a device to protect an egg from breaking when dropped, learning about physics and engineering principles.

Experiment 6: Water Xylophone

Fill glasses with different levels of water and use a spoon to strike them, exploring sound waves and frequencies.

Experiment 7: Homemade Compass

Make a compass using a needle, magnet, and water to learn about magnetism and navigation.

Experiment 8: Static Electricity Butterfly

Use static electricity to make a paper butterfly’s wings flap, demonstrating the principles of static charge.

Experiment 9: Density Tower

Layer liquids of different densities to create a colorful tower, teaching about density and buoyancy.

Experiment 10: Balloon Rocket

Explore Newton’s third law of motion by launching a balloon rocket along a string.

Experiment 11: Acid-Base Reactions

Use baking soda and vinegar to inflate a balloon, illustrating acid-base reactions and gas expansion.

Experiment 12: DIY Sundial

Create a simple sundial using a stick and markers to learn about solar time and the Earth’s rotation.

Experiment 13: Invisible Ink

Write secret messages with lemon juice, revealing them through heating and learning about oxidation.

Experiment 14: Color-Changing Flowers

Change the color of white flowers using colored water, demonstrating capillary action and how plants absorb water.

Experiment 15: Paper Airplane Engineering

Experiment with different paper airplane designs to explore aerodynamics and flight.

Experiment 16: Solar Oven

Build a simple solar oven using a pizza box to learn about renewable energy and the greenhouse effect.

Experiment 17: Tornado in a Bottle

Create a water vortex by connecting two bottles, teaching about vortexes and fluid dynamics.

Experiment 18: Homemade Slime

Make slime with glue and borax solution to explore non-Newtonian fluids and chemical bonding.

Experiment 19: Light Refraction

Use a glass of water and a pencil to demonstrate how light bends, or refracts, when it passes through different mediums.

Experiment 20: Shadow Studies

Observe and record the length and direction of shadows throughout the day to learn about the Earth’s rotation and the sun’s position.

Benefits of STEM Programs for Kids

Fosters Creativity

STEM education encourages children to think outside the box and develop innovative solutions. By engaging in hands-on projects, children learn that creativity is not just about art but also about finding new ways to solve problems. For instance, designing a simple machine not only teaches mechanical principles but also stimulates imaginative thinking about how different components can work together.

Builds Problem-Solving Skills

STEM subjects challenge students with real-world problems, requiring them to apply logic and creativity to find solutions. These experiences help children develop critical thinking skills that are essential in academic and everyday life. Coding activities, for example, teach kids to break down problems into manageable parts and devise algorithms to solve them, a fundamental aspect of computational thinking.

Encourages Curiosity

Children are naturally curious, and STEM education feeds this curiosity by providing them with the tools to explore and understand the world around them. Asking questions like “What makes the weather change?” can lead to interactive projects that explore concepts in meteorology, encouraging a deeper understanding and interest in science.

Simple STEM Experiments to Do at Home

Homemade Lava Lamp

Objective: Understand liquid density and chemical reactions. Materials: Clear bottle, vegetable oil, water, food coloring, effervescent tablet. Procedure:

  1. Fill the bottle with one-quarter water and the rest with oil.
  2. Wait for the layers to separate.
  3. Add a few drops of food coloring; they will sink and mix with the water.
  4. Add pieces of the effervescent tablet and watch the bubbly reaction. Science Explained: This experiment shows how oil and water do not mix due to their different densities. The effervescent tablet reacts with the water to create gas bubbles coated with colored water, which rise and fall, creating a lava lamp effect.

Crystal Growing

Objective: Explore solutions, saturation, and crystallization. Materials: Water, sugar or salt, jar, string. Procedure:

  1. Boil water and dissolve as much sugar or salt as possible.
  2. Pour the solution into a jar.
  3. Suspend a string from the top of the jar into the solution.
  4. Allow the solution to cool and sit undisturbed for several days. Science Explained: As the solution cools, it becomes supersaturated, meaning it can no longer hold as much dissolved material. Crystals begin to form on the string as the solute comes out of solution, demonstrating crystallization.