Join the Kip Crew from Finland on 31 October

STEAM Education! What is STEAM?

STEAM aims to strengthen the foundation of STEM subjects like science, Technology, Engineering and Math through integrating Art which results in inclusive and accessible learning experiences for ALL children in STEM subjects. Through creating these creative and playful experiences for learning ALL children will develop critical thinking and other crucial future skills that will be needed for them to thrive in the future – leaving no-one behind!

Participate and join us at the ODA Family Makers Day.

Although this workshop is aimed at grade 1’s this is a great opportunity to create your own makerspace OR makers party either at home with family and friends; or by inviting children from your neighborhood to join OR for an educator to organise a get together at school or at a community centre so that a group of children can participate and make together.

About the Workshop

Come and join the Kip crew in a fun filled adventure! You will have an opportunity to get to know the amazing characters; Waaba, Maco, Tuka and Soca, who all have their own individual personalities and strengths, and follow their lead to an exciting world of future skills in Technology Education! This workshop is aimed at groups of children, adults, families, teachers and students and it gives you a taster session of creating and producing together.

• You will plan and create a future machine together using recyclable materials.
• Children will develop all-round important future skills, such as curiosity, critical thinking, problem-solving and innovative and design thinking skills.

Your host is Fun Academy

Maria and Katariina will be guiding and helping you. They have already helped many children and adults in Finland to produce and create amazing future machines

Preparation for this workshop

What you need:

• Everyone will need a paper and a pen or another tool, such as clay or playdough, for planning. You can use whatever tools you have available.
• You also need different recyclable or waste materials OR you can collect materials from nature to use when you build your machine.
• Have something like tape, glue, string or anything else that will help you to stick or tie the different pieces of your machine together.

*It is no problem if you don’t finish building your machine during the workshop. You can continue building it after the workshop

Examples of materials that you can collect BEFORE the workshop: Great activity for the children before the workshop. Adults can also help them to collect materials. 

Look around at home, at school or even outside, and see what you can find. Materials that are not needed anymore, that can be recycled for this project. The below list are simply examples to give you ideas of what to collect but you may collect completely different materials – all depends on what you can find around you to build with. Anything goes – remember you are going to use your creativity and imagination a lot in this workshop to build your own future machine!

Here is our list of examples that you can collect:

fabric – paperclips – paper – plasticine or modelling clay – string, thread or fishing line – nails – timber/wood – metal wire – screws – empty sewing thread bobbins – food colouring – glue or paste – paint or varnish – tape – markers/kokis – water – rubber bands or hairbands – milk cartons or similar, and their caps/lids of bottels- foil – pots – fabric – egg boxes – cardboard boxes – cardboard tubes (for example, from toilet rolls and kitchen towel) – washing pegs – newspapers – empty chips/crisp packets,  – empty tea bags,  empty soap bottles (pump bottles) – cocktail sticks, barbeque skewers or toothpicks – tins (all sizes) – soda cans, plastic cooldrink bottles, materials from nature

After the workshop: 

*It is no problem if you don’t finish building your machine during the workshop. You can continue building it after the workshop. Then when you are done building, we would love to receive pictures of the machines you built and a short story of what your machine is designed to do and how it works so please upload your images and stories HERE so that we can see what you have created. You will receive your own password once you have registered on our website. Don’t forget to add your name, where you are from and how old you are.

More for Parents and Educators

For schools and teachers anywhere in the world who are interested in using our learning materials to develop future skills in ALL children. 

This Works has a comprehensive learning program with 7 ready-to-use modules for schools and teachers available on This Works website. Please find out more at What is This Works Learning program section HERE 

More about This Works Learning Program.  

This works! is an approximately seven-week learning programme that has been designed for all first graders all around the world. It focuses on developing technology skills and transversal competencies. The programme starts from the child’s perspective by awakening their curiosity in research, experimentation and construction. It also helps them to understand that the world of technology has been created by humans and includes everything that has been produced or created by human beings, all the way from the small objects made by the students themselves to the most complex high-tech products.  It also seeks to help children believe in their own abilities and to come up with creative solutions. In addition to transversal competencies, the children will study at least the following: mathematics, the natural sciences, English, art, handicrafts, physical education, and musical theory and practice. This works! highlights areas that are essential for technology education, such as coming up with ideas, planning and designing, creative problem-solving, computational thinking, technical construction and craftsmanship. Find out more HERE

Contact Details:

Please contact Maria or Katariina for more information at

maria.marin@edumarin.fi     /    katariina.leivo@edumarin.fi

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