By Hui-Hui Wang When you think about engineering, do you first think of machines and buildings? People rarely associate engineering with the natural world. You may think it’s hard to design a youth program that combines engineering design and environmental or nature components. It is a challenge but it’s worth doing because of the thinking skills that youth can get from these activities. I am leading a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) youth program that focuses on native pollinators. Recently we asked a group of middle school youth to examine different flowers and write down their observations, such as the shape, smell, size and color of the flowers. Then, we introduced the concept of pollinators and different type of pollinators -- bees, bats, mice, flies, butterflies, birds and so on. We asked them to design a flower that attracts the most pollinators. Next, they designed a pollinator that is attracted to that flower. We asked them to consider why the pollina...
Our youth development educators bridge research and practice. In this blog, they offer their views on what's happening in the field of youth development, with an eye to evidence-based research written by themselves and others in our field. We welcome your comments.