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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Design Squad Nation’s Build It Big Contest



Do you have a young inventor living in your casa? Does Papi limp around the house from stepping on (not-so-lost) LEGO pieces in the middle of the night? Maybe you have so many Lincoln logs scattered around your house that the neighbors think you’ve been hit by termites?

This, then, is the post for you!

Since I am dedicating this week to the topic of encouraging Latino students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, I am excited to share DSN’s website with you.

In case you don’t know, Design Squad is a reality show on PBS where kids ages 6 – 19 design ingenious machines in the hopes of winning college scholarships. The kids are given a challenge (thought up by the show’s creators) and some raw materials, which they transform into fabulous, workable solutions.

Design Squad Global 
Clubs connect kids ages 10-13 in out-of-school-time programs around the world! Kids explore engineering through fun-packed, high-energy, hands-on activities-and they partner with a DSG club from a different country! Choose between two options (a 6-week or a 12-week program) and they'll match you with a partner club.

One of the things I liked most about Design Squad Nation is their inclusive outlook and the way the students participating on the show reflect the diversity of our nation...


In addition, Design Squad Nation has carefully provided most of the activities on their website in both English AND Spanish! So if anyone on your team is not completely fluent in English, download the information for them so that they can better understand. This is especially helpful for Spanish-speaking parents and other relatives who want to show their support, but aren’t sure what exactly you are up to!

The site also offers a Global Challenge where kids are presented with an activity challenge and they share their creative solutions. In fact, the site is full of challenges for kids to tackle. It's a wonderful way to keep  

¡Ándale, gente! Let’s get our kids excited about engineering and math. Show them how fun it can be to make their ideas a reality.


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