Another promising STEM education initiative
Scores of children as young as 4 rolled eggs down a board, brushed sand from toy dinosaur bones and folded paper triangles to support the weight of bite-sized candy bars for lessons in gravity, paleontology and structural engineering.
By the end of the day, guided by science, tech, engineering and math professionals and students, several were proclaiming “I love math!”
That was the goal for Rachel Williams, who developed the characters and stories at the center of curricula to encourage STEM learning in ages 4 to 7.
“They have to see themselves as scientists,” said Williams, COO of Paige & Paxton. She co-founded the company to teach kids about science and math, based on puzzle-piece characters she developed 20 years ago to encourage her own daughters’ interests in math and science. Daughter Kelley, 28, is the company’s CEO.
The company, now part of the WiSTEM program for women entrepreneurs at 1871 in Chicago, develops curricula for schools and conducts make-a-thons and programs for other organizations to get younger kids comfortable with STEM.
