brackitz - connecting imaginations

GIRLS VERSUS BOYS IN STEMThe Institution of Engineering and Technology conducted a study called CHILDWISE, exploring the factors that inform parents’and childrens’perceptions of STEM-based careers, and what might be preventing children from pursuing careers in science and engineering. Research was conducted with 32 children (boys and girls) across January and February 2015. Why do children enjoy STEM subjects?They enjoy SCIENCE because it involves experiments, finding out how things work, and making things. Science is interesting, fun, creative, practical, hands-on, and exciting.Children enjoy DESIGN AND ENGINEERING because they are interested in creating, designing, drawing, and building. They find out how things work, are challenged, and investigate both graphical and technological formats. They enjoy TECHNOLOGY because it involves playing games, engaging in new technologies, programming in code, and understanding how things work.Children enjoy MATHEMATICS because they have a natural aptitude for numbers, working things out, and solving problems. Children who enjoy math typically enjoy logical puzzles and games.Why don't children enjoy STEM subjects? Boys tend to dislike STEM subjects because they claim the subjects are boring.Girls claim STEM subjects are hard or difficult, or say that are just not good at these subjects.Research proved that girls are interested in STEM subjects but are oftentimes deterred from engaging in science subjects because of the way the information is taught. The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) claim that as a society, we need to promote activities and careers that are targeted specifically at girls. IET uses sponsorships, award schemes, education initiatives, and involvement in national campaigns to hopefully create a better world for future engineers. “Girls respond particularly well to the creative aspects of engineering –once they are shown more information, including aspects of creativity and design, far more girls who enjoy Art, but are less enthusiastic about STEM subjects, are encouraged to think about an engineering career. This includes a large proportion of girls who are put off STEM subjects because they find them hard, but armed with just a little information, feel more confident in considering engineering.”—Nigel Fine, Chief Executive, IETGIRLS COMPARED TO BOYS:Girls are more interested than boys in drawing and designing things (67% vs 46% boys).Girls are also more interested than boys in editing videos and photos (37% vs 27%).Boys are much more interested in gadgets and new technology (65% vs 51% of girls), making and building things (64% vs 40%), finding out how things work/are made (53% vs 34%) or computer programming (46% vs 21% of girls).Broadly, boys are more motivated by understanding how things work and making things.Girls are more motivated by the creative applications of technology.“The findings show that children often view careers in engineering as fixing, mending, maintenance, messy, dirty and ‘more for boys’. Parents have a more positive view, describing engineering jobs as skilled, professional, paying good money, interesting, inventive, important and creative. However those with daughters are more likely to see engineering as difficult, messy and dirty. Fewer than half of parents of girls would encourage their children to consider a career in engineering, compared to two thirds of parents of boys. More than half of parents feel that engineering careers are more for boys and children’s views are largely similar.”—Nigel Fine, Chief Executive, IET The IET believes engineers need to work harder to make engineering appealing to the next generation –and their parents –and to convince them that it is a worthwhile and motivating career choice, particularly for girls. Data from the IET’s latest annual skills survey showed that women represent only 6% of the engineering workforce, a figure that has remained virtually static in recent years. More than 50% of girls ages 9-12 feel engineering jobs are more applicable to boys. This must be challenged if more girls are to pursue an engineering career! Brackitz are just one way to encourage your daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters to play with the fundamentals of science, technology, engineering, and math. About Brackitz: Brackitz is the only construction and building toy that actually lets kids design any structure they envision –anything! Our one-of-a-kind Brackitz enable connections at any angle, allowing kids to use real-life architectural and engineering principles to create large-scale, gravity-defying, 3-D structures –with no limitations!

Building a Successful, Open-Ended Playdate – Activity Ideas for Non-Electronic FunIf you’re like most parents, you’ve set limits on electronics – be it TV, tablet, or phone – during your child’s solo play time. But what about during playdates? That time when kids are supposed to engage and entertain each other, learning social skills like compromise, turn-taking, sharing, and hosting, using their imaginations, getting creative, and having face-to-face, real-time fun? If you’re looking for a way to stop screen time from seeping into your playdates, look no further than construction play! Kids love to build things and construction play is the perfect way to develop those social skills, build vocabulary, and practice key math, science, and engineering principles, too! From forts to foods, we’ve found five, fun, building-based activities to keep MineCraft and Mario at bay. Fun in a Fort!Who doesn’t love to build a fort? Provide chairs, pillows, couch cushions, sheets, and blankets (chip clips work great to hold them in place) and watch as your bitty builders construct a palace, pirate ship, or hidden hollow. Once construction is complete, kids can create artwork for the fort walls, put on shadow puppets with a flashlight, or just play inside. Try building a fort with Brackitz - How big or tall can you get it?!Bricks & BlocksOpen-ended toys like traditional blocks, bricks, and planks are a great way to engage multiple children, either working side by side or collaborating on a larger structure. Challenge the kiddos to use small-scale bricks to recreate your town – assign each child a building they know, like the library, grocery store, (or, let’s face it, Starbucks) – or supply bigger-scale building toys like brackitz and watch in awe as kids create larger-than-life structures - together. Stack a SnackKids getting crabby? Snack time can serve as a reset, so call them into the kitchen for some fuel – and some fun! Stack sliced carrot, celery, and pretzel sticks like Lincoln Logs to build houses and buildings. Provide mini-marshmallows and toothpicks for abstract molecular creations. Sort slippery cucumber and banana slices into a tower. Kids won’t believe you’re actually encouraging them to play with their food!Totally Tubular Arts & CraftsSave those cardboard paper towel and toilet paper tubes – they’re perfect props for a building playdate! Paint and decorate the tubes with glitter and stickers. Little kids can slip them into each other to create a tower, rocket ship, or totem pole; older kids can transform tubes into a marble maze – cut some in half, leave some whole, fit them together and let the marbles fly! Get Outside and PlayNatural objects make great building supplies. Send the kids out back in search of rocks, sticks, and pine cones and see what they can build! Lean and balance sticks to create a teepee, stack to form a structure, strap them together to make a raft. Defy gravity by building an arched rock bridge, surrounded by fresh air and sunshine.From cardboard boxes to wooden planks, sticks and stones to fruits and veggies, we’re surrounded by building supplies and construction play is a wonderful, open-ended, imagination-building, hands-on way to engage multiple children WITHOUT plugging in. Give it a go at your next playdate – the kids will have so much fun piling, stacking, designing, and building that they won’t even miss that screen time.

Brackitz would like to highlight The Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), a global organization whose aim is to raise awareness about STEM education by providing programming opportunities for science museums, children’s museums, science centers, aquariums, planetariums, botanical gardens, and universities. ASTC includes over 650 institutions in 50 different countries across the globe. Members of ASTC argue the future depends on advancing science and STEM education.“Science centers and museums are preparing a new generation of responsible global citizens who will be able to address the problems that will face our world over the next century. From air and water pollution to endangered species to human health and nutrition…”—ASTCMuseums and science centers are critical for developing analytical and problem solving skills because they offer learning and stimulation outside the classroom. Museums and science centers focus on creating environments that raise interest and understanding in STEM fields. They inspire elementary and middle school students to become interested in STEM at young ages. Research claims most scientists actually chose their career-paths by the time they’re 11 years old, suggesting a need to spark interest in children as early as possible. Introducing children to museums and science centers, where an interest is placed on making learning fun and exciting, teaches them that learning can be accomplished through play. “Most young people consider science too daunting a subject (if not too boring and too dry!) and are amazed that they can learn easily within a museum environment. In fact, attitudes towards science are formed primarily during out-of-school time in early adolescence.”—ASTCThe Association of Science-Technology Centers adapts quickly to educational needs. They establish leaders, train educators, and analyze statistics about how quickly STEM disciplines are growing. ASTC is constantly expanding their collaborations in order to reach a wide audience. “ASTC works with these widely diverse institutions to help put the ‘wow’in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education with mind-blowing, hands-on, interactive exhibits, participatory experiments, and outreach programs that advance STEM learning in new and innovative ways.”—ASTCTheir close partnerships with local communities allow nearly everyone, regardless of economic status, to experience the impact of children’s museums at little to no cost. Lawrence Hall of Science, Air Zoo, The Leonardo Science Museum, Arkansas Museum of Discovery, and Museum of the Rockies are a few examples of learning centers that feature Brackitz open-ended building toys in their STEM-education programs. Bracktiz are often found on exhibit or in the educational programming for classes and camps. Without the help of ASTC, children may not even realize these institutions exist in their hometowns. Both ASTC and Brackitz aim to encourage STEM with hands-on experiments that make children inquisitive about the world around them. About BrackitzBrackitz is the only open-ended building and construction toy that actually lets kids design any structure they envision – anything! Our one-of-a-kind Brackitz enable connections at any angle, allowing kids to use real-life architectural and engineering principles to create large-scale, gravity-defying, 3-D structures – with no limitations!