Studies have shown that kids who practice engineering gain multiple benefits such as effective communication, problem solving, and understanding failure as a learning experience. There are also many types of engineering that your child can incorporate their passion into. Let’s dive into everything you need ton know about 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 already help foster the mindset of engineering.
Enroll your child in free coding classes designed by experts from Google, Stanford, and MIT to learn engineering from the comfort of home with live guidance.
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, robotic engineering, and electrical 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, and energy. If your child loves to understand how machines work by disassembling them, then they might be interested in mechanical engineering.
Civil Engineering For Kids
Civil engineers design and build infrastructure 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 especially when naturally disasters happen. Most of the problems civil engineers solve are how to make the most used parts of a city safe and affordable. This is a perfect job to look into if your child is interested in cars, trains, and buildings.
Robotics For Kids
Robotics engineers design and build complex machines that use computers that can do human duties. A great example of common robots 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 mundane time to solve more serious problems is one of the benefits of robotics engineering. Also if your child loves technology and solving problems being a robotics engineer is a great fit for them.
Enroll your child in an award-winning live online robotics class for kids to learn the basics of VEX Code and programming in 3-D while creating simple robots: Junior Robotics (grades 2-4) and Robot Adventures (4-8). Students will learn how to navigate robots through virtual worlds and complete exciting maze challenges!
4. Electrical Engineering For Kids
Electrical engineering is the process of learning how electricity works and how it powers the devices we use every day. Electrical engineering includes power generation, automation and control, semiconductors, and information technology. By learning the basics of electrical engineering, kids can understand how things like TVs, phones, and robots work while developing problem-solving skills, creativity, and an interest in technology. If your child has fun building simple circuits, constructing small motors, and even creating their own electronic gadgets, electrical engineering could be of interest to them. Your child will likely enjoy learning how to build with Snap Circuits, which is a great starting point.
How To Foster Your Child's Interest In Engineering
The perfect way to help your child become interested in engineering is to participate in activities that promote engineering. 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 or Tinkertoys and then constructing it together, or building complex machines such as light shows, automatic doors, and even flying machines with Redstone in Minecraft, there are so many ways to engage you and your child with fun activities that promote engineering skills. Another popular - though potentially more expensive - method is to break down old or non-working computers, cars, and the like, and try rebuilding them together.
Another way to explore engineering is to join live online classes led by expert instructors. Here are some of the most popular award-winning live virtual classes that help develop the core skills to think like an engineer.
Live Online Engineering Classes For Kids
1. Scratch Ninja (Grades 2-5)
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)
This Vex robotics class is 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. Smart Devices: Arduino For Kids (Grades 4-9)
We are surrounded by electronics: smartphones, computers, TVs, robots, and more. While lots of students have learned to code, few have had the opportunity to build a physical system, which opens up a brand new world. In this fun class, students learn Arduino coding online to create electronics projects for real-world adventures at home.
4. 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.
5. Circuit Fun With Snap Circuits
In this fun free online event series, your child learns the basics of electronic circuits using Snap Circuits. They build several fun projects each time, while learning what a circuit is, how circuits work, and how to add more parts in a circuit to make sounds, light, and more! They will also learn sensors and advanced content such as integrated circuits.
Free Engineering Games And Activities For Kids
If you are unsure how your child can embrace engineering as a hobby, here are some lists of activities your child might enjoy.
- Science Kids: This site offers tons of activities and quizzes for kids who are interested in engineering.
- Teach Engineering: This is a great site that lists off activities that encourage creativity and critical thinking for all grade levels.
- Practice Building: This is a free version of classic Minecraft that your child can use to practice creating buildings and structures.
- 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 fun Scratch coding classes to help your child start thinking like an engineer!
- Robots: This is a great place to start for your child to learn about the programming involved in making robots.
- Robotics Competitions: Competitions can be a great way to learn teamwork as well as dive deeper into subjects your student is passionate about - while adding a stand out item to their college applications.
Learn 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 the engineering field is sure to have something of interest to your student. Enroll your child in free coding classes to get started today. They can even earn a certificate.
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!”