Engineering at Home: Developing Family Centered Informal Engineering Learning Resources

About This Grant

This project designs and studies informal engineering learning resources that support families with young children (ages 6–10) in engaging in hands-on engineering activities at home. The resources span biological, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, and mechanical engineering and introduce children to core engineering practices, including empathy, problem definition, solution ideation, prototyping, and testing. Through a co-design process with families, the project aims to create developmentally appropriate, accessible learning experiences that support early engagement with engineering concepts and practices. Caregiver-focused video workshops will accompany the materials to support adults in facilitating meaningful at-home engineering learning. The research examines how structured, family-based learning experiences influence children’s interest, confidence, and engagement in engineering-related problem-solving. Project deliverables include a suite of easy-to-implement engineering modules and instructional videos designed for broad use in informal learning settings. These resources will be disseminated through national homeschooling networks, public media outlets, widely used engineering lesson repositories, and professional STEM education networks to ensure broad access and scalability. Using a mixed-methods research design, the study will analyze data from pre- and post-engagement surveys, recordings of caregiver–child interactions, interviews, caregiver reflective journals, and child-generated artifacts such as sketches and design outputs. Analyses will generate evidence-based insights into how informal learning environments can support early engagement with engineering and understanding of engineering practices in everyday contexts. Findings will be disseminated through scholarly journals, professional conferences, and educational networks to inform research and practice in informal STEM education. By strengthening early exposure to engineering practices and problem-solving skills, this project contributes to public scientific literacy, STEM workforce development, and broader participation in engineering learning pathways. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.