Math and Science ... at Fairyland!

By C.J. Hirschfield

This Friday, Children’s Fairyland will partner with local businesses to promote STEM learning (science, technology, engineering and math) to our community’s youngest kids: the pre-K crowd.

No, we won’t be waving math flashcards or displaying charts of the periodic table. Because this is Fairyland, and we’re all about fun, we’ll be doing things a little differently. 

Poop: Gateway to a World of Science

By C.J. Hirschfield

You know what they say about business success: “Always listen to your customers.”

At Children’s Fairyland, we’re always listening. And what do we hear our customers talking about? Poop.

"Everyone Poops," a favorite in Fairyland's Reading Room.

Getting "Realia" About Kids and Science

By C.J. Hirschfield

No, that isn’t a typo in the headline. “Realia” is a real word that means “objects and material from everyday life, especially when used as teaching aids.”

Well, Fairyland has realia in spades, and we love to share it. Case in point: beginning Oct. 11, first-graders from six underserved Oakland schools and 18 classrooms will get to see, smell and touch plants as part of our “Science Alive” program, designed to get them excited about biology.

A Day to Play with STEM

By C.J. Hirschfield

By now, pretty much everyone knows that STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math, and that mastery of STEM spells success in school and beyond.

STEM jobs in the East Bay pay well –$80,000 a year or more, even without an advanced degree.  And jobs are plentiful: No other region in the nation can boast three national laboratories – Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia – as well as a cross-section of manufacturing companies that use robot operators, 3-D printers, software designers, researchers, and programmers. What’s more, jobs in STEM are only expected to increase.

But many young people in our community are not prepared to take these good jobs. It’s a challenge that East Bay business leaders have been working on for decades, particularly directing their focus on school-age kids.

The trouble is, by the time kids are taught STEM subjects in high school, or even in elementary school, it may be too late. We need to start much younger, getting kids excited about math and science during their pre-kindergarten years.

And – in case you were wondering – that’s where Fairyland fits in.