AW Spotlight
The Kids Wonder Lab – Bringing Coding, Robotics and Engineering to Kids
By Sabeen Faquir
Well, I am here to tell you the Kids Wonder Lab is STEM focused. This means there will be an emphasis of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education. It will be meant for a wide range of ages (from Pre-K to middle school). You may remember The Lab, which used to be at the very spot the Kids Wonder Lab is opening; The Lab covered more biological interests, while the Kids Wonder Lab will have a more tech-driven curriculum. For example, they will teach coding, robotics and engineering.
At the Kids Wonder Lab, there will be an emphasis on collaborative problem-solving and innovation. They will offer a series of clubs in robotics, engineering, and rocketry. Within the clubs, the children will break out into groups and meet challenges. Through assigned activities they will be taught collaboration skills. They will learn conflict resolution, consensus, and that the final product is the product of everyone’s participation.
So how did founders Heather and Erich Landstrom think of opening the Kids Wonder Lab? Heather was a middle school math teacher and her husband Erich is a high school physics teacher. Erich also has experience in a planetarium and museum. Previously, he has performed outreach for NASA. For NASA, it was his responsibility to educate the public about NASA’s missions through teacher training and public events.
Together, the couple had thought about opening a learning center like the Kids Wonder Lab for years. They even contemplated a home business bringing
their hands-on experiments to schools, but got the opportunity to get a space for their learning center. The pair collaborated in the following way: Erich forms program development for the Kids Wonder Lab, which could include anything from engineering challenges, like bridge building, rockets and Mindstorm robotics, while Heather designs the program for the younger members of the Kids Wonder Lab around different science topics each week. They design their educational programs so that students are not just sitting at a table and listening, but keeping active!
There will even be ecology programming. The family feels that while living in South Florida, teaching children about the local flora and fauna and how to preserve them is essential. Barbara even demonstrated to me a project on the life cycle of a butterfly. The curriculum on ecology will include climate change, sea-level rise, and recycling. Heather and Erich have an 11-year-old daughter, Lily, who loves to be outdoors. From the influence of her parents, she has learned to write code, build robots, and enjoys rockets. The Landstrom family also gives back to the community. They are active in beach cleanups and volunteer with a soup kitchen. They also volunteer with Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful for the International Coastal Cleanup every fall. For part of their celebration, they choose locations to clean up for the benefit of the environment and community. This year, the Landstroms picked up trash at Pinehurst Trail.
With their experience in the educational system, the Landstroms feel they are ready to give back to the community by opening the Kids Wonder Lab. Heather feels working towards standardized tests kills innovation. She gave me the example of Bill Gates, who dropped out of the college. She wants the Kids Wonder Lab to be a place that will encourage natural innovation, a place where children can explore their curiosity and wonder why. At the Kids Wonder Lab, children will have mentor-ship, state-of-the-art materials, and a space to innovate.
Kids Wonder Lab
10101 Lantana Road, Suite G
Lake Worth, FL 33449
(561) 249-0798