Little Explorers – Mini-Makers!
Our Little Explorers Mini-Makers programme has been specifically created by our Play and Learning Officer Jenny, to help with the development of some core life skills for our youngest visitors.
Maker activities offer a wealth of benefits for very young children over and above the simple fun in creating them, and the pride felt in the final creation. I can guarantee things made at age 2 or 4 will be proudly displayed on the wall, and eventually end up in the memory box you’re keeping on top of the wardrobe ready to be re-discovered when they’re moving out, or, perhaps wrapped up for Grandad’s next birthday present!
People are natural tinkerers. It is in our nature to explore and create things. Maybe you consider yourself a “tinkerer” or a “maker,” or maybe not. But all of us create. Have you ever played around with a recipe? That’s tinkering! Have you ever fixed something that was broken? Or made a gift for a friend? These activities are tinkering, too! And making. Think about the sense of accomplishment you had when you were done. It felt good, right?
But alongside these benefits, making and tinkering contribute to the development of a core set of skills.
There are many aspects of making and tinkering which require children to use their problem solving skills, such as figuring out how to connect pieces together – whether they be pieces of cardboard, fabric, straws, sticks or whatever, or how to deconstruct and reconstruct things to create something completely new. Children can experiment, adjust and find solutions.
Making things also empowers young children to bring their ideas to life. Designing, experimenting and persisting helps develop confidence and adaptability. Through sourcing materials to use to make their masterpieces, they also foster creativity and resourcefulness.
By enabling young children to use a variety of materials and tools, children also acquire technical literacy and gain familiarity with various components, mechanisms, processes and techniques.
There’s lots of making and tinkering activities happening in our Little Explorers Mini-Makers programme during May & June in The Burrow. Come along to:
Make a Duplo Maze and guide a ball through it from start to end point. Developing fine motor skills to create your maze, and then switching up to gross motor skills to keep your ball within the walls whilst you move it through the maze to escape!
Make a Rocket and then use a straw to work out to blast it into the air. Design the best looking rocket using creativity and imagination, and then see whether it can take off in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… !!
Make a raft using your choice of materials from the box – but ensure you choose things which float! Test it out – does it sink or sail away? This activity fosters experimentation and adaptability, and (inevitably) resilience when your raft sinks to the bottom – again!
Make a masterpiece with other visitors – get creative and add your own marks to our collaborative masterpiece, developing social skills and interactions and learning to work together with others.
There are lots of ways to encourage making and tinkering at home too.
- Set Up a Makerspace: Create a space where children have free access to age-appropriate scraps of materials. Allow for a bit of messiness and let them leave projects half-finished — inspiration can strike at any moment!
- Tinker Trunk: Save old, broken, and unwanted items in a “tinker trunk.” This collection of scraps (paper, fabric, etc.) becomes a treasure trove for creative exploration.
- Build Together: Challenge children to build with unusual materials and on different scales. Think big (pillow forts, forest shelters) and small (marshmallow-and-toothpick castles or tiny toothpick tents).
- Take Things Apart: Deconstructing items helps children understand form and functionality – just make sure it’s not something you wanted to keep!
There’s lots of information and ideas for tinkering and making at home provided by our friends over at Boston Children’s Museum here
Perhaps most importantly, our Little Explorers Mini-Makers theme will be great fun! All whilst engaging you and your children in activities which support their holistic development.
Little Explorers Mini-Makers will run from 7 May through to 28 June, so book online now, and come and join in the fun!