The pandemic has deeply disrupted all our educational institutions and has forced us to think more deeply about how we teach and educate young people. The resultant abrupt shift in the delivery of knowledge from in-person interactive classes to online modalities has radically transformed how we interact, teach, and learn. While most school systems remain closed or partially closed for in-person learning, many, in particular those with the appropriate technological infrastructure and resources, have successfully transitioned to electronic classrooms. However, fully engaging the younger cohort of kids in middle and elementary school remains a real challenge in this new modality. This project is aimed at helping these kids learn new concepts in science by doing simple experiments at home with guidance from a parent/adult. We would like children to experience the joy of figuring things out.  While not every child is going to end up becoming a career scientist, exposure to how science works, and how it helps us make sense of the world, we believe, is crucial to leading a fulfilling life in our science and technology driven world.

As outlined in a 2012 Op-Ed column , most American children tend not to have exposure to apply and connect what they are learning in the classroom to the world around them. We need to provide engaging learning environments that link school curricula to the real world.  This is particularly urgent now during the COVID-19 crisis when children no longer have the stimulation offered by formal instruction in the classroom or active engagement with their teachers and peers. This project is our attempt to bridge what we see as an essential gap with experiential learning that requires very simple resources that are readily available at home. Our goal is to build upon the natural curiosity of children while teaching important foundational scientific concepts - learning by doing. 

Partnering with MIT FullSteam Ahead , a leader in developing resources for teaching and learning online, the goal of our collaboration is to help continue and augment in-class learning and feed schoolchildren’s intellectual curiosity with a suite of simple experiments that can be done around the home without expensive equipment. Our hope is to offer some exciting and engaging guided explorations that will help students understand that science is not about abstract concepts but offers a fundamental way to think about,  engage with, and understand the complex and wonderful world that we live in.