
Innovate for Tots
Little learners get a head full of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) with these interdisciplinary and hands-on activities. Designed for curious preschoolers, these playful activities focus on themed materials and then expand outward with storytelling, project-based learning, science, discovery, artifact viewing and classroom exploration.
Lesson Plan
Let's Learn About Wood
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Wood is flexible yet sturdy, strong but easy to shape with simple tools or machines, making it a great material for early airplanes as well as cars, boats, homes and furniture.
Let's Learn About Fabric
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Explore where fabric comes from and how fabric can be made. Learn how versatile fabric is.
Let's Learn About Sand
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Learn how sand turns into glass. Discover the technique of blowing glass into objects. Explore the importance of glass in many innovations.
Let's Learn About Rocks
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Seek out some of the many uses of stone as a tool, trade, fashion, or building material. We'll explore fancy rocks, useful rocks, edible rocks and fun rocks.
Let's Learn about Metals
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Many kinds of metals are found deep in the ground around us. Nuts and bolts, cans, and pots and pans are just a few items made of metal that we use every day. Metal can be used in many ways for work and for play.
Let's Learn about Plastic
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Plastic is a man-made material that can be molded to make thousands of everyday items. Bottles, toys and even packing materials are all made of plastic. Plastic can be used in so many ways that we would have a difficult time living without it.
Let's Learn about Paper
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
It's all around us, a basic building block of our world. We write on it. We read from it. We play with it. We use it every day. Let's explore how strong it is, how to build with it and even how to take flight with it.
Let's Learn about Rubber
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Discover where rubber comes from and how this amazing material is used to make everything from tires to toys, elastic bands to gloves.
Let's Learn about Natural Materials
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Explore natural materials that we grow, gather and use to make and decorate useful objects. Materials that come from fields, forests, birds and insects have always provided people with materials we can use to help us work and play.
Let's Learn About Wood & Fabric
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
These activities draw upon prior lessons with wood and add fabric to discover how these separate materials are combined to make new, useful items we see every day.
Let's Learn about Wood & Metal
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Take a fresh look at wood and metal to discover how these materials compare, contrast and combine to make innovative objects we use in our daily lives.
Let's Learn about Wood & Rocks
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Take a fresh look at wood and rock to discover how these materials are combined to create useful new objects we use in our daily lives.
Let's Learn about Paper & Natural Materials
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
By taking a fresh look at two previously explored materials, Paper & Natural Materials, we will compare and contrast these two materials and find out how they are often combined.
Let's Learn About Paper & Fabric
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
These activities draw upon prior lessons with paper and fabric. Now let's combine the two to demonstrate the numerous everyday items which use both materials.
Let's Learn About Metal & Glass
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
These activities draw upon two previously explored materials, metal and glass, to discover how those separate materials are combined to create useful new items we see every day.
Let's Learn about Metal & Fabric
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
We will compare and contrast these two materials and find out how they are often combined.
Let's Learn about Plastic & Metal
Grade Levels: Early Childhood
Let's take a fresh look at two previously explored materials: plastic and metals.