When Should We Introduce Children to STEM?

Authorities in multiple fields agree, there is vital importance for students to graduate with a comprehensive understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As early as 2007, leaders of education and industry concluded that the nation’s ability to revolutionize and flourish in the current workforce rests on a strong foundation based on STEM-related topics.

But when should we start introducing children to STEM topics? And when we do, what is the best way to approach these subjects for younger learners? In all honesty, it is never to early to introduce STEM-related subjects. You don’t need specialized tools or teaching materials, either. Children are exposed to these subjects as they explore their world. With a little guidance, a parent or early education teacher can help young learners connect a wide range of STEM topics with the experiences they have daily.

What is STEM?

I tend to think of STEM as more of a philosophy than an acronym. It is a teaching method that encourages parents and educators to think in a more connected and holistic way. Contrary to what some may think, preschool children are already exposed to STEM concepts through play and exploration of the world around them.

Our understanding of how children learn has grown significantly over the last few decades. We now recognize that achievements in learning necessitate the student to be the focal point of the learning experience to make the associations across disciplines and contextual settings. Kids need ample opportunities to absorb the same concepts in dissimilar situations. Unfortunately, the customary method of teaching by segregating topics into isolated learning experiences is contrary to how children learn best.

STEM encourages parents and educators to give children the opportunity to investigate an idea in a variety of settings. Educators refer to this method of teaching as cross-contextual learning. For example, in addition to math worksheets to help practice counting, we can take students outside to practice counting real objects that they find, such as rocks, acorns, or leaves. Their learning is reinforced when they learn the same skills, ideas, and concepts in different contexts.

We can merge math and science to make learning interdisciplinary using a STEM approach. For younger learners, concepts become more relevant when they can make the associations between the topic and the world around them. We can help inspire deeper exploration by encouraging students to identify objects, make comparisons, create theories, test ideas, and share discoveries, all while interacting with their normal surroundings. Students can also explore dimensions, shapes, patterns, and numbers in the process. In this way, children can learn concepts from a variety of subjects in different settings, all in ways that are logically attractive to them.

Starting STEM Early

Imagine that you’re planning to build a skyscraper. You’ve found the best location and prepared the terrain, so now it is time to start building. Where would you start construction for your building? I would bet that you probably wouldn’t start on the 5th floor – you would start with a strong foundation. Yet we tend to wait until a child is entering kindergarten, at least 5 years old, before we introduce students to STEM activities. To me, this seems counterintuitive. Young children’s minds are sponges already absorbing as much information as possible from the world around them. It doesn’t need to be formal. In fact, early on the exposure to STEM activities can be as simple as letting your infant play with the water from the faucet as you fill her bath or playing with toys in a sandbox. The point is, you don’t need fancy equipment or tools to teach STEM to early learners.


Research supports the idea that early childhood education should incorporate play and investigation as the dominant method of instruction for preschoolers. The play-based approach to education not only helps children build life skills and interests that will stay with them throughout their lives, it also allows students to be more engaged in their education and take some control of their own learning. Furthermore, research suggests that by allowing students to take a more active role in their own education is beneficial to for overall academic success.

Teaching STEM to Preschoolers

The way a preschooler learns is already perfect for teaching STEM concepts, which makes it much easier to explore these concepts with young children. The secret is to use their natural curiosity about their world. Children are natural explorers – they want to touch, taste, smell, hear, and see everything. This starts at birth for many children.

I remember watching my newborn daughter discover her hands and feet, first by looking at them, then by making her fingers and toes move and finally – by sticking her entire hand or foot directly into her mouth. As she gained mobility, she explored everything she had access to (and sometimes, areas where I had blocked access and the little Houdini still managed to get in). 

I fondly remember her first interactions with our family dog, how she dug her little fingers into his fur, how she put her nose up close to his body, how stared at the little bits of fur that came off in her hands… and how she decided she needed to taste test the white tip on the tail of our otherwise black lab.

These activities, from trying to eat her hand to happily splashing in the dog’s water dish to learning what dog fur feels and tastes like are all examples of the natural curiosity of a child that can be harnessed to effectively teach STEM topics from a very early age.

Harness What Comes Naturally to Preschoolers

How can you harness this innate curiosity? It’s simpler than you may think. Start by simply letting your child explore the natural world around them. Head outside and let your little researcher use his or her senses to discover new things (with reasonable limits – don’t let your child do something dangerous or that will get them sick). Ask questions that focus on “what” something is rather than “why” to encourage your child to describe, classify, and define their discoveries. Allow them to collect items from their study of the world so they can return to them later.

Promoting Early STEM Education

We need to work together to change the status quo for our nation’s children. If the leading thinkers on education believe that our hopes for a vibrant democracy hinge upon a foundation of STEM education, then we need to be encouraging best practices in STEM from the get-go. One of the best practices in teaching and learning is to make learning relevant, and there is nothing more relevant than being outside and exploring the world we live in. Let's not wait another day to take young children outside to start engaging them in STEM education.