Encouraging children to build and create new toys from materials that you have on hand is a great way to reinforce STEM skills while keeping things imaginative.

Take Caine Monroy as the perfect example of an innovative young builder who, at only 9 years-old, took cardboard scraps from his father’s garage to create a fully functional arcade:

You don’t have to build an entire arcade to test the waters of engineering. If your child is interested in creating something like Caine, encourage them to join the Global Cardboard Challenge – a worldwide challenge issued to children encouraging them to build something great using only their imagination and some cardboard. The challenge will take place in October and students are encouraged to join local challenges or host their own, so sign up today and start planning!

Where can you go to participate in the Cardboard Challenge in NYC?

On the weekend of October 11-12, Blue School will be hosting their 2nd Annual Cardboard Challenge in partnership with the Imagination Foundation. The Blue School will be challenging students to build musical instruments out of cardboard!

Blue School Cardboard Challenge
 When: Saturday, October 11 & Sunday, October 12, 2014 from 10:00am – 3:00pm
 Where: Blue School (map)

The NYC Ed Tech Family Day: A’Fair

Looking for more resources for your engineering-minded student? Be sure to sign up for PALNYC’s NYC Ed Tech Family Day: A’Fair, taking place on Saturday, November 8, 2014 from 10:ooam- 3:30pm. Brought to you by PALNYC and our media sponsor New York Family and hosted by NEST+m, the NYC Ed Tech Family Day: A’Fair is part carnival, part scavenger hunt, part education fair for parents and their children in kindergarten through 8th grade with a focus on introducing Education Technologies to NYC families.

The NYC Ed Tech Family Day: A’Fair will feature some of the best Education Technologies available in the domains of STEM, The Arts, 21st Century Skills, Mind & Body Health and Language & Literacy. Our exhibitors are carefully curated from the top companies in Education Technology to support, differentiate and individualize learning at school and at home. Learn more about the Ed Tech Family Day: A’Fair here. EDTECH FAMILY DAY – FAMILIES

Participants in the cardboard challenge are encouraged to submit their projects to PALNYC for review and the opportunity to have them displayed at the NYC Ed Tech Family Day: A’Fair. For more information, contact Angelique LeDoux at palworkshops@me.com. Or call 212.353.8881.

More STEM Resources

hAPPy Connections:  TinkerBox – If you can imagine it, you can build it with TinkerBox. TinkerBox is a fun, free-to-play physics puzzle game. While it is full of interesting science facts and teaches basic engineering concepts, TinkerBox is more than just educational! Take the tools in your hands to explore your creativity and imagination with Invent mode. Build outrageous machines and share them with your friends. • Free