As we make the final preparations for the 7th annual E4: Excellence in Elementary Engineering Education conference, and I reflect upon the past six events, only Carnac the Magnificent might have been able to have predicted at the beginning that the E4 Conference would be the answer to the question, “Name one of the most impactful elementary STEM initiatives.” At the time the Minnesota Academic Standards in Science was just being revised, and this idea called “engineering” was new to teachers. In fact, if you asked the average elementary student “What is an engineer?” they might have told you someone who drives a train.

A handful of schools were taking on a STEM identity and The Works Museum invited them together to ask how they might be able to facilitate sharing promising practices. The idea that emerged was to develop a day full of information on elementary engineering standards, ideas on integrating engineering into other elementary subjects, and practical advice from hands-on programs throughout Minnesota. Now, as the 7th conference is ready to start, almost 2,000 Minnesota educators have attended and over 100 different educators have shared ideas on utilizing engineering in their classrooms. What may have been taken as a punchline: “Excellence in Elementary Engineering,” when few schools were teaching engineering, has now become a tagline of innovation. It has built upon The Works Museum’s hands-on elementary engineering philosophy, and it works to translate into classrooms throughout the state of Minnesota. Please join us to experience engineering in pre-school, early elementary and late elementary and to be inspired by and learn with educators that have also found the power of engineering in the classroom.

To close, as Carnac the Magnificent might have said, (and putting a little Dilbert flair to it,) “May your student possess the knack to learn by tinkering in your classroom.” See you in November!

– Doug

Submitted by Doug Paulson, STEM Specialist, Division of Academic Standards and Instructional Effectiveness, Minnesota Department of Education