Engineering is not just about building bridges or tall buildings鈥攊t鈥檚 a process that engineers follow to create and test solutions to a problem. We also use this process to solve problems every day, like figuring out a food recipe or building a bookshelf. Like science inquiry, young children naturally engage in engineering design as they play and explore the world around them.
You don鈥檛 need to be an expert in engineering to help your child use engineering design skills or practice everyday problem-solving. You can use the activities, videos, and resources on this website to learn about engineering together. Talking about the engineering design process with your child and using the process when you play together is a great way to get your child interested in engineering and help them develop problem-solving skills.
In the Head Start on Engineering project, we describe engineering as designing and testing ideas to solve problems in work and life. With families, we introduce the engineering design process as a five-step, iterative cycle:
- Ask鈥擜sk questions to understand the problem and what you need to solve it.
- Imagine鈥擝rainstorm as many possible solutions and designs as you can.
- Plan鈥擯ick a design and decide how you will use your materials.
- Create鈥擝uild and test your design to see how well it solves the problem.
- Improve鈥擬ake changes to your design based on what you learned.
Watch the videos here for examples of everyday engineering in action. You can also download this handout as a simple reminder of the engineering design process when engaging with young children.