... Self-guiding STEM activity kits designed for parent-child play are effective for boosting some parents’ STEM talk that has been linked to better STEM outcomes in prior research.
... results indicated a significant effect on STEM identity for students who reported encouragement in STEM from elementary school teachers, using STEM toys/kits, watching STEM-related TV programs or movies, playing STEM computer/video games, and observing or studying stars and other astronomical objects.
... “Don’t go first to the idea that this is a girl, so she must want a princess doll,” Sweet says. “Play helps children to develop necessary skills and to learn and grow in their world, so the toys that allow for the most open-ended and creative play are those that research has found are best. And I don’t recommend that parents limit the possibilities.”
Focused on the intersection between childhood development and computer science, Tufts University professor Marina Bers says “coding is the new literacy." Through her startup KinderLab Robotics, Bers created Kibo, a robot designed to teach children as young as 4 years old to create and program their own robots. Kibo is conceived as a screen-free tech playground to promote creativity and collaboration. Based in Stockholm, imagiLabs is also trying to make coding more accessible, especially for girls, with a programmable accessory called the imagiCharm. CEO Dora Palfi says the product is geared towards encouraging girls between 8 and 13 yeras old to create colorful pixel art by using code. The ultimate aim? To boost female participation in tech. - Kristie Lu Stout, CNN
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