Museum of Science, Boston Recognized by SIIA as Best PreK/Early Childhood Learning Solution
Museum’s new Engineering Curriculum for PreK students, Wee Engineer, Earns Prestigious Industry Recognition
BOSTON – The Museum of Science, Boston is thrilled to announce today that the nation’s first engineering curriculum for PreK students, Wee Engineer, was named the Best PreK/Early Childhood Learning Solution as part of the 2019 SIIA CODiE Awards. The prestigious CODiE Awards recognize the companies producing the most innovative Business and Education technology products across the country and around the world.
“We are beyond proud that SIIA has recognized Wee Engineer as the winner of the Best PreK/Early Childhood Learning Solution for its 2019 CODiE awards,” said Annette Sawyer, Vice President of the Education Division at the Museum of Science, Boston. “Our goal is to create a generation of problem solvers and introduce students to the wonders of engineering starting at the youngest age possible in order to expose kids to the Engineering Design Process and to build a diverse engineering and science workforce. Being recognized by leaders in the business and education technology industries with a CODiE Award illustrates that the hands-on curriculum throughout Wee Engineer is a powerful tool for students growing up in a digital world.”
Wee Engineer, part of EiE, the award-winning engineering curricula program from the Museum of Science, Boston, engages children as young as 3 in structured problem solving that sets them up for success in school and life. Comprised of four design challenges, it eases learners into the worlds of science and technology and guides them through an age-appropriate, three-step engineering design process — Explore, Create and Improve — as they design a technology that solves a problem. Wee Engineer engages children in active, hands-on, inquiry-based engineering projects that foster children’s agency as engineers and that are flexible enough to meet the needs and abilities of different kinds of learners. It gives young children the opportunity to embrace engineering before stereotypes about “who can engineer” take hold and is designed to fit within the existing routines of preschool and PreK classrooms.
The EiE program, which now includes curricula that cover the entirety of PreK through grade 8 in both school and after school settings, has been created to help build a generation of creative thinkers and problem solvers — the world over. Across the United States, the program reaches approximately 1.3 million students and 44,000 teachers annually, and is now available in over 30 countries around the world.
“The 2019 CODiE award winners represent the best of a new class of innovative products that are disrupting education and adding new efficiencies for educators and administrators. These exciting new products are opening doors for learners of all ages by developing and utilizing new technologies to respond to student and educator needs,” said Jeff Joseph, SIIA President. “Congratulations to the Museum of Science, Boston, EiE, and all our honorees!”
The winner announcement was made by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, during the SIIA Ed Tech Conference & CODiE Awards in San Francisco. Thirty-four awards were given for products and services deployed specifically for education and learning professionals, including the top honor of the best overall Education Technology Solution.
A SIIA CODiE Award win is a prestigious honor, as each award winner was first reviewed by expert judges including educators and administrators whose evaluations determined the finalists. SIIA members then vote on the finalist products, and the scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners.
More information about the Awards is available at .
Details about the winning products can be found at
http://www.siia.net/codie/2019-Winners.
About the CODiE Awards
The SIIA CODiE Awards is the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visitsiia.net/CODiE.
About EiE
Launched in 2003, EiE is an award-winning preK-8 engineering program from the Museum of Science, Boston, one of the world’s largest science centers and New England’s most attended cultural institution. EiE reaches 1.3 million students each year and has been used in all 50 states and in over 20 countries. Its research-based, hands-on engineering curricula were designed to create a generation of problem solvers. EiE introduces learners to the engineering design process to build a strong foundation of critical thinking and inspire them to solve real-world challenges. With EiE, educators and students learn to apply an engineering mindset across disciplines—in the classroom and in out-of-school settings. A commitment to equity and access is a foundational idea in EiE’s curriculum design, professional development, and research.
EiE engages all learners and empowers students and educators to discover their inner engineer. Visit: https://www.eie.org/.