Introduction

Brainy Builders is a fun and unique learning program for children grades 1 through 8. The classes feature teacher guided, hands on activities and lessons.  Each class is designed to help children learn science, mathematics and acquire valuable academic problem solving skills.

The Brainy Builders program was created with the intent of providing much needed mechanics, logic, math and science skills to students. However, Brainy Builders also gives children a fun and safe outlet for their creativity while they learn.

How it Works

A Brainy Builders class out will generally start with a short preparatory introduction given by the teacher. This introduction will focus on information the students can use for the remainder of the class. The material presented will vary depending upon the subject of the class and the age of the students. The introduction material may be a short book, a physics concept (for instance a demonstration of gravity), an example of how something works or a short (5 to 10 minute) age appropriate educational video demonstrating the concept.

The second step of the Brainy Builders class is to provide the students Lego Education sets (and instructions to build them). Here students must sort out Lego pieces and assemble their machines following the instructions. In some cases students will work alone but it is much more common that children are asked to work in pairs. This helps children practice working in teams.  Children are welcome to follow instructions exactly or they can improve on a design.  Creativity and out of the box thinking are encouraged in the class, however, students must always keep in mind the problem they are attempting to solve.

In the final stage of the Brainy Builders Lesson students use the machine they’ve created to conduct experiments. Using the scientific method the students conduct experiments relevant to the lesson, record their results and draw a conclusion.  Depending on the machine they constructed this could involve calculating distance, time or probability of an event occurring.  In some circumstances students might then build additional machines to accomplish other tasks related to the experiment.

Effects

Brainy Builders uses hands on methods to help students learn to process information logically and methodically.The scope and extent of science covered in Brainy Builders is often not covered until high school.  However, because the material is presented in a fun and interactive way children usually have no trouble learning the subjects presented.  While it is very educational, the program is also intended as a fun and a creative outlet.

Learning to internalize both the scientific process and the methodical way in which problems are to be approached at an early age gives these children an advantage in life.  This way of thinking will stay with them well into adulthood, helping in career and in the real world.