Making and Tinkering with STEM: Solving Design Challenges with Young Children, Second Edition

 What could you create with a cardboard box? Can you build a troll-proof bridge for the three billy goats to cross? How might you change what your shadow looks like?  

In the first edition of this bestselling book, author Cate Heroman made teaching and learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts more accessible and fun through the maker movement—a hands-on learning approach rooted in designing, building, and inventing things. Using picture books as the springboard, teachers challenge and delight children by inviting them to use everyday materials and tools to create solutions to problems faced by book characters.     

This updated and expanded second edition features   

•  A collection of 35 design challenges appropriate for children ages 3 through 8, including revised favorites and all-new additions  
•  A list of 140 picture books that encourage STEM-rich exploration and reflect the diverse experiences, interests, and identities of young children 
•  More foundational information for educators, including clearer connections among tinkering, making, and engineering; updated language that reflects current thinking about how children learn; and guidance on how to observe, document, and assess children’s learning during these experiences 
• A planning template to create your own design challenges (available online)

 With this practical resource, you can build on the curiosity and creativity inherent in young children’s play to nurture meaningful STEM exploration and learning.              

Cate Heroman is passionate about helping young children become confident, creative thinkers and problem solvers. With decades of experience as a teacher, consultant, author, and advocate, she has dedicated her career to fostering curiosity and hands-on exploration in young learners. Cate believes that STEM education begins in early childhood, when attitudes about learning and problem solving are first formed. By nurturing creativity and curiosity, she hopes to equip children with skills to tackle challenges we can’t yet imagine. 

As a founder of Knock Knock Children’s Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Cate helped shape its focus on early literacy and STEAM education for children from birth to age 8 and their families. She worked with staff, board members, and museum planners to apply best practices in early childhood education and early STEM, creating engaging, hands-on experiences. The museum, nationally recognized as a regional hub for maker-centered learning, serves as a charging station for playful, informal STEAM exploration. Through this initiative, Cate also supported regional school teams of educators in integrating tinkering, making, and engineering into their pre-K through third grade classrooms. Through her church, Cate volunteers in local classrooms, bringing STEAM-rich story times to young children. These experiences have deepened her understanding of how children of different ages think with their hands and allowed her to prototype and refine the design challenges in this book. 

Cate holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Louisiana State University. As a grandmother, she has found joy in watching her four grandchildren grow up discovering the excitement of making, tinkering, and exploring STEM—an enthusiasm instilled in them during their early years. She hopes to inspire educators to create spaces where children feel empowered to explore, create, and solve problems.