Today’s focus for #ocsbSTEAM week is Engineering. With a STEAM challenge and practical ideas to support your child’s learning in the field of engineering, today is destined to be a great day!
#ocsbSTEAM challenge of the day
Build a snow sculpture outdoors or indoors using recycled materials! Get outside and show your engineering skills and care for the environment. Don’t forget to share your creations online using #ocsbSTEAM, #ocsbTechEdge and #ocsbOutdoors.
Ideas to support your child’s exploration of engineering
- Learn about the Engineering Design Process (Teach Engineering) with your child! This process nurtures students’ abilities to create innovative solutions to challenges in any subject!
- When your child asks a question, instead of giving them the answer, encourage them to research and develop several possible solutions.
- Ask your child open-ended questions with no right or wrong answer. For example: Why do you like (that game or toy, car, phone app, etc.) so much? Do you think the design can be improved? What would you do to improve the design?
If your child is in Kindergarten to grade 6
- Have fun as a family with building challenges (e.g., build a fort or an animal shelter). Check out this article on the Importance of Building in Early Years.
- Go for a walk and observe the structures around your community. How were they built? What materials were used? What makes them strong?
If your child is in grades 7 to 12
- Show your child these great videos by Crash Course: How to become an Engineer and What’s An Engineer?
- Explain that engineers don’t just build structures and machines; there are many different types of engineers.
- Have a conversation about the infrastructure in your region. Discuss climate change and what can be done to reduce energy consumption and live more sustainably.
How we support your child’s learning at the OCSB
- We provide your child with STEAM outreach opportunities such as Let’s Talk Science, Scientists in School, Coding Quest with The Learning Partnership and STEAM and Manufacturing career panels.
- We run career awareness workshops with Skills Ontario, Techsploration Ontario, and Ottawa Network for Education to encourage your child to explore Skilled Trades and technology careers.
- We also give high school students access to EdgeFactor, a rich multimedia platform to explore careers in skilled trades and technology.