Before they ever step into a classroom, young children are already scientists, driven by an innate need to question, explore, and understand the world around them. Young children are known to ask endless “why” questions, with an insatiable intellectual curiosity that sometimes vexes the adults around them. But somewhere in the rush to meet academic standards and cover curricular content, these “why” questions start to fade. As they fade, adults begin to forget a fundamental truth: that curiosity is at the very heart of learning, especially in the foundational early childhood and elementary years.
At its core, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is more than memorizing facts; it is a disposition toward the world rooted in a sense of wonder and a willingness to explore the unknown. When we design STEM environments and experiences that prioritize joy, play, and curiosity, we create welcoming learning spaces that counter STEM stereotypes and invite all learners to thrive.
The Curiosity Drop
It has been estimated that preschool children ask their parents about 100 questions a day and between the ages 2-5 years, kids ask around 40,000 questions. But there is a steep drop-off after this. At around age 5 (right when many kids are starting formal schooling) the questions they ask drop significantly. Their curiosity is often curtailed by the need to cover academic content, the logistics of the school day, and a learning culture that is more focused on kids providing the right answers as opposed to asking the right questions. This is, unfortunately, counterproductive to STEM learning.
Curiosity is a driving force behind self-directed learning, and research suggests that fostering intellectual curiosity beginning in kindergarten may be a key determinant of academic success – within and beyond STEM. For example, curiosity has been associated with greater reading and math academic achievement at kindergarten. Research has also linked curiosity to a number of positive and adaptive behaviors, including tolerance of anxiety and uncertainty, positive emotions, humor, playfulness, out-of-box thinking, and a nonjudgmental attitude.
How Play Can Support STEM Curiosity
When it comes to STEM learning, playful and hands-on approaches that build on children’s questions and curiosities go hand in hand with academic learning and success (learn more about supporting STEM play in this NGCP blog). Research has shown that child-initiated imaginary play and teacher-guided play can promote science practices and science ideas. Moreover, research has also shown that encouraging joyful, play-based learning strategies in STEM domains like mathematics (such as game-based learning, collaborative puzzles, or storytelling) can reduce math anxiety and lower emotional barriers to participation.
When learners experience joy, they feel secure enough to take intellectual risks, collaborate freely, and crucially, persist through frustration and failure when problem solving. These “hard fun” experiences encourage students to experiment and make mistakes while mastering new skills and building resilience. Hard fun activities are important because they help children learn how to manage frustration and gain confidence, which are especially important in STEM fields.
By intentionally designing STEM environments that encourage hard fun by prioritizing joy, play, and curiosity, we align education with the way the human brain naturally learns. We shift the perception of STEM from a series of facts to be memorized into a dynamic, approachable, and deeply engaging sandbox for exploration. Ready to get started? Read on to discover five simple ways to spark curiosity, joy, and play in STEM in your learning setting!
Five Ways to Spark Curiosity, Joy, and Play through STEM
- Value Questions and Curiosity: Acknowledge and value every question. You may not have time to stop and explore each question in real time, but you can encourage the questions to keep flowing by keeping a “Wonder Wall” in your classroom or learning space to document kids’ spontaneous wonders. When a child asks a question about something they are curious about, write it down on a sticky note and add it to the Wonder Wall. This visualizes their curiosity as valuable data, ensuring you can return to their ideas for projects, research, and exploration.
- Build on Children's Interests: Investigate what children are actually asking about, noticing, or imagining. Use these natural interests as a starting point for deeper inquiry. For example, if a group of children becomes obsessed with building ramps for toy cars, don't stop at racing them—turn it into an impromptu physics challenge. Ask, "What happens if we change the texture of the ramp with bubble wrap or aluminum foil?" or "How high can we stack these blocks before the slope makes the car flip?" By anchoring STEM concepts to things they already love, the learning feels like an extension of their play.
- Use "Wonder" to Spark Investigation: Some of the best evidence comes from unexpected events, like a power outage during a storm. Use these surprises to investigate how things work (e.g., "Where does electricity come from?"). Remember, no question is too big or too small for a scientific inquiry, and you don’t need to be ready with all the answers! Try stepping into the role of co-investigator alongside the children you work with or care for, discovering the "how" and "why" of the world together.
- Encourage Multiple Possible Answers: Create a learning culture that acknowledges that there isn’t always just one right answer to most problems. For instance, if children are programming a floor robot to navigate a maze, remind them that there isn't just one 'right' code. One child might program a sequence of short, precise turns, while another might code a wider, looping path to avoid an obstacle—and both successfully reach the finish line! By celebrating both approaches, you show that being stumped is just an invitation to try a different path. This is true of real-world engineering and science, where there is rarely just one 'correct' answer, and instead, it is helpful to be curious about alternative ideas and solutions to find out what works best.
- Support Open-Ended Play: Provide ample time for child-directed, open-ended play where the primary goal is discovery rather than a specific pre-determined outcome. Sensory play—like exploring water, mud, or kinetic sand—and manipulating unstructured "loose parts" like cardboard tubes, corks, and stones, are rich landscapes for organic STEM learning. Without the pressure of getting the "right answer," children naturally engage in deep science learning: testing the physical properties of materials, observing cause-and-effect, and discovering foundational principles of chemistry and geometry – all while having fun in the process!
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Amanda Sullivan
Senior Researcher (she/her)