Quirky curious

This is a lovely design and technology experience. Children can look at the table setting and decide what objects are ‘fit for purpose’: What is it about the jug that makes it easy to pour…

From scraped knees to hair brushing, body parts and their names play a big role in children’s everyday lives. But, our memories of how we discovered them and when we learned their names are often a little hazy. See how many of these songs you know!

Satellites not only serve very practical purposes but also satisfy our curiosity about the universe. We wouldn’t know as much about space without astronomical satellites like the Hubble Space Telescope and the other research satellites out there.

Bubbles are fascinating: The spherical shape, the sheen and the rainbow colours, the way they float and move with the air currents… They are a source of wonder; but how do they form? What makes them pop? What holds them together? AND can you blow bubbles on the Moon?

Technology has changed rapidly in the last 50 years. An investigation into changes in telephone technology or pictures of old cars can spark many conversations. These might lead into a closer investigation of form and functionality then and now and how technology affects everyday life.

My Dad taught us this game. It’s a common campfire game and it’s annoying. I like to use it to spark a conversation about the Moon and its attributes. AND it’s a great way of discovering the children’s prior knowledge.

For sound to travel from one place to another, it needs something to move through. On Earth, air allows sound waves to move from one point to another. Sound can also move through water and the coat hanger is also useful for investigating how whales and dolphins communicate over such long distances. Sound waves travel through vibrations…

Roughly estimated, 50% of participants have negative associations with this STEM subject and are, as a result, convinced that they are not capable of engaging children in mathematics. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard ‘I am hopeless/horrible/useless, don’t even bother trying to teach me.’I reckon we all agree that the goal of early education is to instill a passion for live-long learning into the little ones in our care. How are we supposed to kindle joy of mathematics if we break out in cold sweats thinking about equations and formulas?

Children can have some interesting perspectives on what is inside them. Cultural perceptions can also make a huge difference. Why not investigate their prior knowledge by starting a conversation about the biology of the Pacific octopus or another sea creature they have studied?

Rays, including manta rays, stingrays and spotted eagle rays move in a particularly graceful way – a swirling dance I will never tire of. Immerse yourself in the children’s classic Commotion in the ocean and you too will fall in love with the movement of the oceans.