*collaborative post
As you know I am a big believer in imaginative play. I think it helps children to develop their minds and their creativity. They also become more self-sufficient and independent.
The types of encouragement and toys that children have, shapes the variety of imaginative play they develop. My four-year-old daughter loves her dollies and often imagines herself to be a mommy running her house in the playroom. In addition, she uses her imagination through dress up games and make believe with her brothers.
IET (The Institution of Engineering & Technology) launched the Engineer a Better World campaign in 2015 to inspire the next generation of engineers and technicians. The idea is to encourage young people and their parents to think differently about careers in engineering and to see that engineering is everywhere! From our smart phones and tablets to clothing and houses – engineering takes many different shapes.
IET research found that boys were almost three times more likely than girls to receive a STEM-themed (Science, Technology, Engineer, Math) toy at Christmas. These stereotypes could be discouraging girls from a career in engineering! And honestly, this statistic made me stop and think. I certainly don’t’ want to be discouraging certain careers by not ever providing the materials or encouragement to grow my children’s interest in them.
Engineer the Chocolate Bar of the Future Competition
The IET has teamed up with Cadbury’s chocolate to run an amazing competition to encourage children to enjoy engineering. The #ISeeMore competition invites children to design their chocolate bar of the future. That certainly is engineering made fun!!
The winner will receive a trip to the Bournville Factory to engineer their winning entry in real life! They will get to meet chocolate experts, a real life engineer, AND get a trip to Cadbury World, and an iPad Mini. Woohoo!
This competition aims to encourage children to enjoy engineering by using chocolate (which we all love). I think it’s a really clever way to get kiddies to use their imaginations and to see just how fun engineering can be.
The competition is open to children aged 8 to 16 and closes on 16 September 2017. Full details & to enter this competition visit This Page on the IET Website.
Our Chocolate Bar of the Future
I ran through some of the competition inspiration questions with my kiddies to see what type of chocolate bar they would engineer. The inspiration questions on the IET website include- what shape will the chocolate be, what will it be named, etc. Here is what they came up with…
The chocolate bar of the future will be triangle shaped & ginormous – bigger than two of your hands (I like where this is going). It will be made in space. The wrapper will be rainbow colored. Future chocolate bars will taste like marshmallows, maple syrup & chocolate sauce & chocolate combined. And it shall be called: Choco Yummy.
Great ideas all around by the kiddies. Good luck to your family on designing the chocolate bar of the future! I’m sure you will enjoy the process. x
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