STEM2Space is about having fun, making friends, socializing and learning the foundational Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills along the way. We think that this marriage of fun and education is a recipe for success that will make kids want to continue to learn and play with us and keep coming back to our after school camps. We give kids the confidence to ask questions and problem-solve for themselves while offering guidance along the way. Ultimately, our goal is to promote interest in STEM fields and create the next generation of passionate STEM superstars by providing an unforgettable environment.

In order to become a STEM superstar, it’s important to start early. Similar to many complex skills like language, music and art, the easiest way to attain mastery is by starting at a young age. The reason for this is simple: childhood and adolescence are two of the most important times in a person’s intellectual development. During these times, children’s brains are very absorbent when it comes to learning new abilities and skills and can retain tremendous amounts of new information. As a result, it is best to leverage your child’s mental sponginess with something educational like STEM. Therefore, parents looking to nudge their children in the STEM direction should do so at an early age.

Many children already show interest in several of the precursors to STEM. Interest in science fiction, video games like Minecraft and Roblox, and general interest in technology and how things work are indicators that a child may be inclined towards STEM. Another textbook sign that your child may have the skillset for STEM is a passion for all things Lego.

Lego is a STEM dream. Lego is intuitive, the limits of what you can create are boundless, and it is robust to the point where one can add robotics and coding to the mix without skipping a beat. For this very reason, we love playing with Lego at STEM2Space. Using Lego’s WeDo 2.0 Lego education program suite, we walk through the blueprints of recognizable machines like airplanes, helicopters and fire trucks with our students. We first discuss the evolution of the technological piece over the ages. For example, we may start Leonardo Da Vinci’s first sketches of wings and seeing how that progressed to the engineering of the Wright Brothers’ first airplane. We then discuss how the machines tick. What key components and combination of simple machines allow our Lego to move? What is our programming telling our Lego to do? It’s this balanced approach to teaching that we hope will grow our students’ passion for STEM. By combining the practical and fun building side of Lego with the fascinating and, frankly, cool history of the machines we are emulating, we hope to grab our students’ attentions and create the next STEM superstars.