Play in STEM: A Perfect Pairing

by Rebecca Horrace | View Bio
and
Dr. Brian Stone | View Bio

Rebecca Horrace

Rebecca Horrace, Ed.D., has been consistently involved in children’s education, from brick-and-mortar classrooms to running a homeschool cooperative program and even founding and leading a 4-H club for military youth. She is an educational expert in the areas of child development, child-centered learning, children's play, and developmentally appropriate best practices. Rebecca founded Playful Insights Consulting to bridge the gap between play and education across toys, content, media, and curricula using UX research, child-development knowledge, and childhood play expertise.

Rebecca holds both her Bachelors and Masters in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University, along with her Reading Specialist and Structured English Immersion Endorsements. She earned her Doctorate in Education through Indiana University with a research focus on the intersection of play and popular media with literacy components while utilizing technology to expand the definition of local by converting distant interactions into a common, shared space.

Rebecca has taught elementary school, both in public schools and homeschool cooperative environments, and at the university level as a Lecturer for pre-service educators. As a play expert, Rebecca contributes as Editor to the Play in Education Newsletter, which is a quarterly publication that advocates for play in the classroom. Her expertise and passion have earned her title of Play Ambassador for the Genius of Play, a non-profit website devoted to play advocacy. It is Rebecca’s passion to reignite the dwindling spark between play and education along her career journey.

Dr. Brian Stone

Dr. Brian A. Stone is a Senior Lecturer at Northern Arizona University. He received a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with a Content Concentration in Science Education. He also specializes in elementary social studies education and play. Prior to teaching at the university, Dr. Stone was passionate about providing play opportunities both inside and outside his elementary classroom. His fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students often had the time and materials to play well in school. Play does not just belong to young children. Dr. Stone has published many articles, including how play develops conceptual understanding in science, the relationship between play and scientific identity, superhero play, content area play, and play and inquiry. Dr. Stone is also the editor of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) section of the International Journal of the Whole Child, where he advocates for child-centered practices including the many benefits of play. He was interviewed on national radio on the connection between play and science. His research interests include inquiry-based science, free play, constructivist practices, and child-development. Dr. Stone has consulted for schools and districts around the world, and advocates for a better system of education that respects children enough to let them play.

Children begin to form their understanding of STEM concepts from an early age, and since their key mode for gathering knowledge is through the exploration of their world, it is natural to incorporate play into STEM. Encourage children to tinker with toys, imagine stories, and creatively explore as they play their way through their learning. STEM toys can be very valuable, but it is even more critical that children lead their own play, which is authentic, self-chosen, and self-directed, not necessarily centered around any particular toy.

STEM is active, it’s exploratory, and most of all–STEM is playful. It doesn’t happen in a sterile environment where children are confined to textbooks and worksheets. But rather, STEM activities engage and foster insightful, creative learners who question big ideas and want to know more about the world around them. There is no right or wrong when a child is actively playing their way through their STEM learning.

When considering appropriate STEM activities that foster play, remember to focus on exploratory, hands-on opportunities that enable children to explore their individual interests. Supporting children in proposing STEM interests and granting them the ownership to follow through with corresponding experiments promotes their education foundation, as well as their self-worth and agency. Children need to know their voices are heard as they meaningfully engage with topics that matter to them in ways that inspire creativity, exploration, and analysis.

• When children fold and test different paper airplane designs, they can discover concepts about aerodynamics, force, life, drag, and gravity. Construct and fly away!


• As children create their own slime concoction using baking soda and glue, they play around with different chemical reactions and states of matter. Science is fun and messy!


• Using magnetic tiles to construct bridges, children explore engineering concepts and calculate measurements along the way. Construction, magnets, engineering–oh my!

As children play, they work through problems and negotiate their feelings and surroundings. Therefore, pairing play and STEM contributes to comprehension retention while also providing multiple opportunities for children to become involved in their peer groups and communities (e.g., socially, physically, emotionally, and culturally.) As children engage in playful learning with others, they play what they know, what they’re comfortable with, sharing stories and experiences with their friends during dynamic conversations and back-and-forth banter between toys.

Let us encourage children to imaginatively play and deepen their authentic learning, so they can build a solid STEM foundation!

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