STEAM Play & Learn

STEAM Play & Learn by Ana Dziengel
Published by Quarto Group USA|Allen & Unwin
Date: 23 May 2018
R.R.P. $17.99

In her note to parents and teachers at the beginning of the book, the author has captured my beliefs in terms of encouraging children to be creative thinkers.   Not only is this a wonderful resource that can be used in the home or school setting, the author reminds us that it is about the process and not the product, that it is okay to make mistakes, encourage them to tinker, and give them the freedom to be innovative.  With a message like this at the beginning of a book it is certainly one that I want to share with everyone.

STEAM Play & Learn is the perfect book for your preschool children to be introduced to the concept of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and math; without the complexities of robotics.  The author explains further what STEAM is and does so in a way that is easy to understand,  She further explains how to use the book, including information on safety and difficulty levels.

The aspect of the book that captures my attention from the front cover and throughout is that it is just a celebration of colour, it’s engaging and makes you want to know more about the experiments.

The experiments and activities range from Colour Mixing, Frozen Goop, Marble Mazes, and Tinkering Set.  Each of these have their own difficulty level, has a section on talking STEAM, and what more you can do to it e.g. make it wider or bigger.  The items used for the experiments are predominately bits and pieces that can be found around the home, including: scissors, cardboard, vinegar and baking soda.

Just a little note for my Australian readers, some words and spelling will differ to our way such as color, yard and craft stick but can be easily explained to your child.

This has to be one of the best STEAM books I have seen for children and I like that the experiments are well suited to the preschool age group.  While the children are learning as they do the experiments in the book, it certainly won’t feel structured or ‘school’ like as it is all about having fun and being creative.  I highly recommend this book.

Thank you Allen & Unwin and Quarto Group USA for the opportunity to read and review this book.