STEM Kits are fun…but they’re expensive.
They’re great for learning.. but they require a knowledgeable mentor to help out when things might get frustrating.
They’re often designed for a single self-directed child who is at home, exploring alone, or with a harried parent who checks in half-heartedly and occasionally. That harried parent often has no prior STEM experience.
Curio-Carousel was conceived by an educator and mom who wanted more STEM fun for her children and students, and thought other educators would want the same. What if instead of trying to get complex, hard-to-track-and-maintain STEM kits into every school, a library of STEM toys could be made portable and sharable across a district or region? The assets could be shared by schools, community centers, and maker spaces for more fun and less cost.
Logistics would be a concern. How would the kits get to and from each location on time? Who would make sure everything that went out, came back complete and in good working shape? Teachers and leaders want to give their students a fun STEM Kit experience, but…logistics…and kit maintenance…and prep time…so much prep time.
So what if a young person, a high school or college student, could deliver the kits, and stay in the classroom to support the educator throughout the lesson? And what if that young mentor were paid through a charitable organization so that the experience was free for the teacher and school or after-school program? The mentor would get STEM experience, job experience, and a paycheck and younger students would get more engaging technical experiences to prepare them with important 21st century skills.