I received complementary product from Start Engineering to facilitate this review. The opinions presented remain, as always, 100% my own.
“When I grow up, I’m going to be a Princess Ballerina.” That has been my preschool daughter’s adult aspirations for going on two years now. I am all for encouraging pursuit of her dreams, but at 4, her daily life revolves around Fairy Tales, Disney Princesses and dance class. It is no wonder that informs her dreams for the future. But what if there were age appropriate resources to expose her to just as inspiring future aspirations – like engineering careers? That has been the goal of my Architecture and Engineering for Kids series to date, and the goal of Start Engineering. Enter to win your choice of Start Engineering books today!
Introducing Engineering Careers to Children
In college, we used to joke that Engineering was ‘Pre-Business’. The course load was strenuous and many would drop the major for the undergraduate business school after a semester or two. Countless others never even attempted to pursue it. I always had a love of math and science: I decided (as a naive teenager) that left me with two career options – to be a doctor or go into business. What about engineering?
Take your child to work day is this week. It offers the opportunity to educate and talk to your children about future career paths, beyond just your own. My father was a mechanical engineer, but I knew little to nothing about the wealth of opportunity and diversity provided by engineering careers. I knew he worked in construction sales, equipping contractors of major projects like highways and skyscrapers with concrete and steel. What I didn’t know was that wasn’t all there was to engineering.
Start Engineering
Start Engineering publishes and promotes resources to educate and inspire children from preschool through high school about engineering. Their books teach children about the many varied roles, seen and unseen, engineering plays in our daily lives, and provides a full picture of engineering as a field of study, as well as future engineering careers.
In support of my Architecture and Engineering for Kids efforts, Start Engineering sent the girls a set of their resources. For preschoolers, the What’s Engineering? Color & Discover! book offers a fun and interactive introduction to engineering in our life. It also includes great tips for parents and educators to extend activities beyond the book… like building towers with cups, flying paper airplanes, or using bath time for lessons in flotation!
We also read their book for elementary aged children: Dream Invent Create: Engineer the World. It offers a comprehensive introduction to the amazing possibilities of engineering, told through verse and vivid illustrations. After reading it, I asked Big M (age 4) what she would engineer when she grows up… and she said she wants to make cities!
Dream Invent Create is now also available in a dual-lingual edition (Spanish and English). Start Engineering also offers a downloadable, 175-page Teachers’ Guide, with 27 lessons to further engineering exploration with your kids.
Last but not least, Start Engineering’s Career Guide provides magazine-style depictions and stories of a day in the life of varied engineers, and real life examples of how engineering impacts our daily lives. From designing Olympic sneakers, to bioengineering prosthetic limbs, or designing Justin Timberlake’s latest tour set, engineering is brought to life. It also provides great resources for the best schools across various engineering fields, companies that provide opportunities in each field, and of course, the average salaries in engineering and its varied disciplines. If I had picked up one of these in my high school guidance counselor’s office, I may have been an engineer instead of a hedge fund analyst!
Win a Start Engineering Book!
Want to encourage your child to learn more about engineering and engineering careers? Enter to win your choice of Start Engineering’s books. One winner will be chosen and have the choice of receiving What’s Engineering for preschoolers, Dream Invent Create for elementary-aged children, or Start Engineering: A Career Guide for older middle school and high school students. Upon selection, winner must provide book selection and address for shipment.
Learn More about Engineering
Want to learn more about how to educate your child about engineering and the wealth of opportunities it provides? Follow Start Engineering on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also sign-up for their bi-weekly newsletter, including updates on their great content, like 11 Toys to Excite the Engineer in Any Kid and Is Engineering Outreach to Girls Okay?
Are you taking your child to work with you this week? Want to expose your child to more career opportunities? Check out Pray Species Day in the Life of a Veterinarian! For more awesome ideas to expose your child to Engineering for Kids, be sure to follow our series and our STEM for Kids – Engineering board on Pinterest.