It’s no secret that educators are finding magic in forward-thinking and multidisciplinary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) curricula. For parents looking to bring a little of that home, there are plenty of hot items out on the market to help. Here are a few favorites suggested by area educators.
The free “SWIFT PLAYGROUNDS” app (pictured above) for the iPad (no age appropriateness suggested) uses puzzles and games to teach Apple’s powerful coding language used for making many of today’s popular apps. That’s an important head start on college — and whatever comes next, according to Rick St. Laurent, principal of general studies at YULA Boys High School. “Getting teens started with coding early is vital to their future education,” he said. ” target=”_blank”>goldiebox.com
 allows kids to build their own solar-powered models and discover how solar cells generate electricity from light. “I am big into new technology,” said Wise School elementary science instructor Mandy Bolkin. The kit comes complete with a solar panel consisting of three solar cells that generate up to 1.5 volts of electricity, the same as an AA battery. <a href=)
” target=”_blank”>thamesandkosmos.com
 as “a wonderful gift for any aspiring scientist, as it allows him to jump into the world of computer science.” This low-cost, credit card-size computer enables people of all ages to explore computing and to learn how to program in various languages like Scratch and Python. It plugs into a computer monitor or TV and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. <a href=)
” target=”_blank”>raspberrypi.org
, in which users can create their own worlds and experiences. “The things I see students doing with ‘Minecraft’ is above and beyond anything a textbook could re-create,” he said. “While I use a textbook to introduce kids to what we’re going to research, ‘Minecraft’ brings a project to a higher level.” For example, while teaching about the inner workings of cells, Pike had students design a game in which players had to penetrate a cell to stop a virus from destroying its DNA coding. <a href=)
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