Making Engineering Accessible

TED is a lecture series with events around the world focusing on Technology, Entertainment, and Design. As designers who work to create a more functional world, we at KC feel TED “Talks” generally do an excellent job of bringing big, complex ideas down to the ground. Here’s one of our favorites: Fawn Qiu’s “Easy DIY projects for kid engineers”.

Fawn Qiu’s mission to develop simple, clever, and engaging engineering projects for children is guided by three principles:

  1. Every project has a low floor, in that they are affordable and technically simple.
  2. Every project has a high ceiling, meaning there is plenty of room for the scope of the project to grow. Creativity is encouraged.
  3. Every project is customizable. In order to keep people engaged, it’s important to make sure they are invested in the project’s outcome. KC knows how important this is. Every one of our projects is a custom solution for a client with very specific needs—always new, always a challenge that we are thrilled to overcome.

We think accessible science projects are absolutely instrumental in getting children interested in the STEM fields from a young age. Watch Ms. Qiu’s video above, and then check out some of the links below for specific projects ideas. Be sure to find the KC table at your next school career fair!

  1. Gumdrop Structural Engineering Challenge
  2. Simple Pneumatic Machine
  3. Propeller-Powered Car
  4. Fluid-Powered Car
  5. Engineer a Bridge