Studies have shown that kids who practice engineering gain multiple benefits such as: effective communication, problem solving, understanding failure as a learning experience, and many more. There are also many types of engineering that your child can incorporate their passion into. Let’s dive into engineering for kids and how your child can benefit!

Many people think engineering is just a career path you choose once you become an adult, but engineering is far from that. Engineering is a way of thinking, communicating, and being able to solve problems. You may not realize it, but a lot of the games and media your child partakes in help foster a hobby or mindset of engineering.

What is engineering?

Engineering is the process of planning, building, and testing of a product. Essentially, engineering is the scientific method for making things, and is a great active for children of all ages!

Creating things allows for students practice physical skills such as hand-eye coordination and motor skills, as well as fortifies cognitive thinking by allowing plenty of time for creative thinking and creative problem solving. Lastly, engineering is easier and cheaper than ever to get into as a hobby, talent, or activity for your child. So let’s dive into how you student can practice engineering!

Discover engineering for kids

There are many different types of engineering, but today we are going to discuss mechanical engineering, civil engineering, and robotic engineering. Plus we'll share how your child can get involved in them!

Mechanical engineering for kids

If you have ever seen big machines in a factory then you have seen the work of a mechanical engineer. Mechanical engineering is the process of designing, creating, and fixing complex machines to do simple or complex jobs. This type of engineering has many options to choose from such as, automotive, aerospace, energy, and many more! If you child love to understand how machines work by disassembling them, then they might be interested in in mechanical engineering.

Civil engineering for kids

Civil engineers design and build infrastructures for towns and cities, which is just a big word for roads, buildings, bridges, and any other transportation systems within a city. This is a very important job because we need our buildings and transportation to be safe on a daily basis and when naturally disasters happen. Most of the problems civil engineers solve is how to make the most used parts of a city safe and affordable. This is a perfect job to look into if you child is cars, trains, and buildings.

Robotics for kids

Robotics engineers design and build and build complex machines that use computers that can do human duties. A great example of common robot we see today is the Roomba. Instead of vacuuming the floor we can now spend that time doing or working on better problems to solve. Being able to free up our mundane time to solve more serious problems is one of the benefits a robotics engineer has. Also if you love technology and solving problems being a robotics engineer is a great fit for you!

Create & Learn's robotics classes for kids provide the unique opportunity to learn from experts in the comfort of your own home. In Create & Learn's live online robotics classes, students learn the basics of VEX Code and programming in 3-D while creating a simple robot. Students will learn how to navigate robots through virtual worlds and complete exciting maze challenges! Junior Robotics is best for students in grades 2-4, while Robot Adventures is fun for kids in grades 4-8.

How to expose your child to engineering

The perfect way to expose your child to engineering is to participate in activities that promote engineering to them. Children love it when their parents are active and excited about a hobby they are interested in, and engineering is a great way to spend time together as well as dive into the things they might already be  interested in!

Whether is it designing something with LEGOs and then constructing it together, or creating complex machines with Redstone in Minecraft, there are so many ways to engage you and your child with fun activities that promote engineering skills. Here at Create & Learn we offer plenty of live virtual classes that help develop those core skills to think like an engineer.

STEM classes for kids

1. Scratch Ninja (Grades 2-4)

Scratch Ninja is a perfect choice for students who are interested in coding and computer engineering. In this class, students learn the foundations of computational thinking while building fun projects!

2. Junior Robotics (Grades 2-4)

Our Vex robotics classes, are designed with students in mind by Apple and Stanford experts. Students will learn how to navigate robots through in a virtual environment and gain a deeper understanding of how robots can be used to solve problems through many  real-world examples.

3. Python for AI (Grades 5-9)

This live online class covers not only the basics of Python coding for teens, but also puts a strong focus on the elements of Python that are most relevant to Artificial Intelligence, including data structures and libraries. If your child is interested in exploring more advanced code writing and computer science programming languages, this is the perfect small group class to get started.

Free engineering games & activities for kids

If you are unsure how your child can have engineering as a hobby, here are some lists of activities your child can do!

  1. Science Kids: This site offers tons of activities and quizzes for kids who are interested in engineering.
  2. Teach Engineering: This is a great site that lists off activities that encourage creativity and critical thinking for all grade levels.
  3. Practice Building: This is a free version of classic Minecraft that your child can use to practice creating buildings and structures.
  4. MIT's Scratch: This is an excellent learning tool to learn how to code and create programs and that a robot could perform. We also offer tons of Scratch coding classes to help your child start thinking like an engineer!
  5. Robots: This is a great place to start for your child to learn about the programming involved in making robots.

Get started with engineering for kids

Engineering is a great hobby for kids to express their creativity that can lead into an excellent career path! From robotics to mechanical engineering we are positive the engineering field has something of interest to your student. Jump right into free coding classes to get started today.

Written by Create & Learn instructor Andrew Harper. Andrew has always had an interest in coding, and after he got his degree and certification in education, he realized that he could be a coding teacher! From there, he started researching and learning a lot on how to integrate computational thinking into education. His dream is to one day create educational software, materials, board games, and video games that encourage students to apply critical thinking and STEM foundations to improve their classrooms and communities. He always tells his students, “ if you can imagine it you can create it in code!”