A lot more content has become available online as we all grapple with the lockdown, especially so in the education sector. At the same time, parents are also feeling more positive about their children’s’ screen-time. They can see the value in online learning as kids are spending more time on Zoom, education TV channels, Minecraft and Roblox.
A study done by Dubit UK showed that half of the kids between the ages of 8-10 had spent time playing Roblox every week and more than 1.5 billion hours have been spent playing Roblox. As we can see, the digital world is part of our everyday life but we should not forget the importance of tactile development.
That’s where STEAM-powered toys come in.
I’m sure most of you know that STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics and we see this term used in an educational setting. But did you know that STEAM can be applied to children’s toys in order to incorporate learning into their playtime as well? Huh, who woulda thought that learning could be fun too? *Wink*
What counts as STEAM toys? Let’s look at some examples for the 8 to 10 year old age group:
- Laboratory kits that teach chemistry
- Learn electronics by building their own FM radio via a kit
- Training their memories and arithmetic through a mathematics board game.
And who can forget about our little guy, Kai’s Clan? Children will have to tap into their scientific and electronic skills to use the different sensors available with Kai’s Clan, like the temperature and humidity sensor! Directing the Kai bot to different locations using coordinates will require their mathematical brains.
Background photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com
and a 
for teaching kids coding
Autonomous Works Company