Make48 is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Kid Spark Education, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing innovative, hands-on STEM learning solutions for grades Pre-K through 8th, to make STEM accessible to students nationwide.
Ryan Neden, Executive Director at Kid Spark, has worked with Make48’s co-founder, Tom Gray, to bring this partnership to fruition. "Kid Spark Education is excited to join forces with Make48 to bring hands-on STEM and invention learning to students across the U.S. Together, we’re making it possible for students to build critical STEM knowledge and tackle real-world challenges in collaborative, creative ways, helping them gain confidence and essential skills for the future."
Here is a look at ways we’re offering schools an exciting, easy way to engage students in real-world problem solving and innovation as they create new products to solve challenges.
What’s in it for Classrooms?
Turn STEM into Hands-On Exploration: This partnership makes it possible for any school, with or without a makerspace, to bring the Make48 experience to their students. With Kid Spark’s STEM kits, students can take on real challenges and build their own inventions right in the classroom.
Collaborative Curriculum: As part of this partnership, Make48 and Kid Spark are developing co-branded curriculum resources designed for younger students. Kid Spark’s existing curriculum helps teachers introduce foundational STEM concepts in engaging, hands-on ways, while new innovation challenges will give students a chance to apply their skills to solve real-world problems.
STEM and Innovation for All Ages: Younger students are unbelievably creative! This partnership provides relevant, practical opportunities to explore STEM concepts in a fun, team-based environment. Working together to ideate, build and experiment, we believe students will gain new confidence in their own skills at critical points in their personal development.
Simple Setup for Teachers: Kid Spark and Make48 provide teachers with all the training and support needed to make activities easy and impactful, regardless of their personal background in STEM.
Why This Partnership Matters
Engage Students with Real-World Challenges: Make48’s invention challenges encourage students to look with curiosity at the world around them, and to develop the same skill sets that will lead to future success.
Accessible Innovation: Kid Spark’s easy-to-use kits let students build and create without complex setups, making STEM education accessible to schools.
Professional Support: With training and resources for teachers, bringing hands-on STEM to the classroom has never been easier.
Ready to Inspire Students?
Research indicates that children’s interest in STEM subjects often begins to decline around age 11, with a significant drop off by age 15, and particularly among girls. This underscores the importance of engaging students in STEM activities during their formative years to sustain their interest and confidence in these fields.
Understanding that students’ perceptions of their abilities in STEM are often formed during their early educational experiences, this partnership is here for anyone - including educators and businesses that care about their local schools - that wishes to support students during this critical juncture in their life.
Reach out today to learn how to support students by emailing education@make48.com!
Learn more about Kid Spark Education: https://kidsparkeducation.org/
Learn more about Make48: https://make48.com/
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