
What are Engineers?
Practice engineering skills like problem solving with Murray.
Children are full of curiosity—they’re naturally observing, questioning, testing, and collecting information. These are the important critical thinking and problem-solving skills of engineers. Explain that engineering is the process of planning, building, or constructing something. Add these facts:
- Engineers work to find a solution to a problem (such as how build a bridge to get people across a river).
- Engineers draw a plan or design before they begin building.
- Engineers also think about which materials they use (such as the strongest material for a bridge).
- Engineers test their design and then redesign, or make changes, as they go.
Try these activities:
Design a Fort. Help set up a problem to solve by asking, “What materials could we use to build an indoor fort we can crawl into?” Encourage children to design and build a fort using pillows, chairs, and blankets.
Build a City. Collect materials such as empty plastic bottles, egg cartons, popsicle sticks, and empty cereal boxes to engineer a “city” on top of a flattened cardboard box. Draw on the box to make roads, and glue or tape the materials on to create buildings, houses, and parks.

New Friendships
Children need the support of the adults in their lives to help ease them back into familiar routines.

Ji-Young and Tamir Build a Robo-plane
A video about teamwork and sharing.

New Friendships: We’ve Been Waiting
A year is a long time in a child's life. Children need the support of the adults in their lives to help ease them back into familiar routines—and into friendships that have been restricted over the past year.

Friends: Old, New, and Kind of Oldish-Newish
A year is a long time in a child's life. Children need the support of the adults in their lives to help ease them back into familiar routines—and into friendships that have been restricted over the past year.

Bert & Ernie Reuse & Reinvent!
An interactive game about upcycling.

Upcycling Crafts
An article about upcycling projects.

Blueprint for Upcycling
An activity page about upcycling.