Play Everywhere Grant Award - GIANT’s STEAM in Everyday Moments Project

Have you done something that involves STEAM today? 

We believe everyone should have access to quality STEAM education. That’s why we applied for Kaboom!’s Play Everywhere Challenge and were awarded funds from The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation to make playful STEAM moments happen for kids who may not typically have access to tools and materials to do so. We’re partnering with local Rochester non-profit Generation Two (G2) to make it happen, they will help us distribute our kits to encourage learning, creativity, and discovery. 

Intrinsic to the GIANT approach is the goal to increase access and approachability to STEAM education. STEAM learning experiences foster creative confidence, experimentation, and collaboration. Our long-term vision is to increase kids' readiness to face the fast-paced ever changing future of work and ultimately, be empowered to create the world they want to live in. By playing and making with our kits outside of school, we hope to motivate children to want to learn, spark their interests in STEAM, and encourage them to showcase their ideas and creations. 

The STEAM in Everyday Moments project will enable STEAM kits designed by The GIANT Room to be distributed throughout communities in Rochester via the G2 network. The GIANT kits will provide tangible materials fabricated with technologies like laser cutters, and 3D printers that will prompt engineering, design, and hands-on making experiences. These materials will be paired with a theme that kids can relate to and they will create things and play with the objects they make. For example, in the Make your own City theme you can build your own food carts, make tasty treats and feed them to different customer characters. These kits will be distributed via G2, to local businesses in Rochester New York where you might not expect to find artifacts to encourage play. 

We are super excited to work with Generation Two (G2) on this project who have a commitment to using play as a vehicle for well-being. Their model uses child-directed play with adult buddies that fosters intergenerational bonds. This approach meaningfully enhances delivery opportunities for the play kits and dovetails with their ongoing work through the  Please Play campaign. 

The shared goal is to create opportunities for play while allowing for increased exposure to STEAM education. We are delighted to launch this project to spark joy in families’ lives especially during a challenging time in the world, play is needed perhaps more than ever! 

Stay tuned, for additional announcements and photos of the project on our Instagram @thegiantroom about the progress of this grant work as we will also be encouraging families to submit photos of their projects so we can see the playful making in action!