Anyone who has children knows how hard it can be to get them excited for school. It’s doubly true if they have are hyper or have an overactive imagination. Traditional education often isn’t the right vehicle to capture that creativity, but that’s where Tesla’s Toolbox comes in.
Around 32% of young students are afraid of how difficult STEM subjects may be. We need something that can turn that fear reaction into one of enthusiasm!
If you want to cultivate STEM education interest in young minds, these workshops are the exact way to do it. Over the next few minutes, we will explore what these workshops offer and why they are a perfect fit for any child.
A Look at Tesla’s Toolbox
Named after famed inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla, the design of the workshops embody some of his philosophy. It approaches STEM hands-on, allowing children of 7 or older to explore the wonders of science.
If you want to see more about the program’s founders, the Space Foundation Discovery Center, you can click here. Their entire outlook on education encourages creativity, something often missing from mainstream schooling.
STEM is so often maligned as being difficult or unapproachable. The blame for that maligning rests at the feet of the rigid, sterile learning environment in many schools. Tesla’s Toolbox does a great job at subverting the expectations.
By diving into some of the workshops they offer, you get an immediate image of their goal to harness a child’s sense of play.
Exploring Educational Workshops
A great example of one of the workshops offered by Tesla’s Toolbox was the construction and design of a modified Mars Rover.
Regardless of individual interests, there can be universal agreement that robots are awesome. What about getting to design one and build one? Even better.
Not only does it teach the value of STEM subjects to the children, but there’s also a social element. They work together to create something and to meet a goal.
The success of these workshops highlights how fantastic a hands-on learning model can be.
Much of the activities revolve around tinkering, whether with robotics or Tesla’s hallmark electricity. For a child, getting a chance to play with these concepts translates into future interest. It feeds into the need to explore, and they will carry that with them into their later education.
Giving Children Confidence
Though the focus has been STEM-themed so far, this toolbox workshop has another benefit. Even though it’s less obvious, it’s just as important.
There was mention at the beginning of how daunting some of these topics are to children. The workshops deliver information in a way that results in achieved goals. It boosts the child’s self-confidence and shows any mountain is conquerable.
Confidence and self-esteem make for a happy, healthy family. If you’re interested in reading more about that kind of thing, check out the rest of our blog! We cover all manner of life hacks that might help!