January 2019—Learning Science with Illustration
For young learners, the joy of play and drawing is universal. There’s a special sense of total freedom and creativity that can only be achieved with a crayon and a piece of blank paper. A child’s drawing is totally their own. With it, they can tell whatever story they want. They can immerse themselves in the 8.5x11-sized world they’ve created.
When it comes to educating our kids, why not use this joyful experience to our advantage?
More and more kids are disengaging from STEM — especially in under-served communities. Educators are always working on creative ways to solve the problem. One big solution? Adding art to the mix.
Research shows that engagement with STEM learning depends on building students’ self-confidence. Science can be difficult, confusing, and overwhelming — at least that’s the reputation it has with many kids and families. To make science less intimidating, educators are embracing the transition from STEM to STEAM. They are looking for ways to encourage kids to explore, ask questions, and be curious in a low-stakes environment. This is why science museums, educational media, games, and tinkering stations are so valuable.
For the Curio team, this means using interactive technology to incorporate art and play into modern science learning.
Art and play help spark interest in science at a critical age, when kids’ brains are soaking up new concepts like little sponges. Art and play make science relatable, even to learners who don’t feel a personal connection to science. Perhaps most importantly, art and play provide a safe, low-stress platform for young learners to build confidence in their ability to perform in science. This makes them more likely to continue studying it later on. Curio Interactive delivers a magical experience by letting students use hand-drawn illustrations — including their own personal artwork — to engage with science topics.
With the Curio Classroom, students can use interactive devices that act like magnifying glasses, microscopes, or miniature telescopes to explore drawings of the natural world. They can fly a hand-drawn butterfly across a landscape. They can explore the different stages of a developing chicken in its egg. They can watch their own personal worker honeybee do its waggling dance. They can even draw their own hummingbird and use Curio’s “magic looking glass” to see its tiny muscles and bones.
The key is letting the student take control of his or her learning experience — and one great way to do this is through art. It’s easy access, with few physical or language barriers, and it encourages students to tinker and explore. Best of all, it sparks joy in students from all backgrounds.
Using art to learn about science appeals to the highly visual brain of a child, helping them develop creativity, patience, spatial relationships, observation, and discovery skills. Art is also seriously personal, with each drawing unique to the student. This keeps students connected and engaged by letting them explore their very own creations — both in the classroom and at home.
Using illustration to help kids learn about science is an exciting emerging field. Kids learn better when they are relaxed, confident, and allowed to explore and ask questions. The objective: To make science more visual, personal, friendly, and just plain fun. Art and play, combined with the effective use of technology, is a perfect way to do just that.
