STEM might not be a very cool acronym, but it makes for some very cool play time.
Science. Technology. Engineering. Math. All those disciplines that Obama talks about making our country great again. Also subjects that fill most English majors with more than a little trepidation. Because, you know, we didn’t get enough STEM as a kid. We liked books, words and stories. And maybe your parents were English majors, like me.
STEM is actually really cool. While I never loved multi-variable equations, I remember loving my first Physics class. What could possibly be cooler than applied Sciences? Especially when applied mathematics are essentially all about building concrete things: ramps, bridges, pendulums, gliders, kites and rockets. All kinds of tactical fun you can touch and feel. No disrespect to digital entertainment, but there is no App for that.
Behold STEM in all its #awesome.
STEM play in action.
Pretty #awesome, right?
Want to get started? Go get some Hot Wheels. They cost less than a dollar, come in endless assortments and can provide endless hours of fun for boys and girls. Any flat surface can became a racetrack. Any table makes for a good jump. And with some paper and pen, you can make all kinds of roads and towns for them to explore.
And if you want to get into the world of STEM, than you can get some tracks and you will really be in business.
Not surprisingly, there are all manner of sets available, with all kinds of silly jumps and plastic parts, movie tie-ins and assorted junk. I would recommend starting with the add-on kits. They provide individual lengths of track, jumps, and other modular parts that you can put together your self. We have a nice collection going, and continue to add on. They aren’t expensive and you would be hard pressed to find better entertainment for kids ages 3 – 6.
If you want to get fancy, there are some other cool products on the market to fuel the imaginations of your little engineers at play. BluTrack is something I discovered while digging into the 3rd party tracks for die cast cars (which, incidentally, is a crazy macro-niche online that lives at the intersection of unboxing videos and DIY videos). Go down that rabbit hole at your own peril, btw.
So will the kids grow tired of the tracks and cars? Maybe. But I sure hope not. Because the 15 minutes I have spent putting together a track for the kids in the morning have paid massive dividends with 45 minutes of happy and relatively friction-less play for both Malcolm and Eliza. Hard to compare to the lobotomizing effects of programming with an iPad.
Bring on the STEM!
— Bad Papa East