NSF Tinker-Telling Grant - Kathleen Campana
Using Libraries and Museums to foster computational tinker-telling for young children and their caregivers
Working alongside informal educators and caregivers, the project team will co-design, test, and refine a practical, easy-to-use guidebook that shows how computational thinking can be taught through playful storytelling and tinkering across libraries, museums, and homes. Professional learning opportunities will support educators in these spaces, while caregivers will gain confidence and tools to continue these learning experiences at home. Research will examine how these experiences strengthen children’s computational thinking skills and dispositions, as well as how they build caregiver and educator capacity to support early STEM learning.
How do young children begin to think like problem-solvers, designers, and future innovators? Dr. Katie Campana, the Patsy H. Perritt Chair in Youth Services will be exploring this as principal investigator of a three-year research project. Funded by an $837,170 grant from the National Science Foundation, the project brings together museums, libraries, caregivers, and educators to make foundational STEM concepts accessible, developmentally appropriate, and engaging for early learners.
This project invites children ages four to eight to explore computational thinking through what they know best - stories, play, and hands-on tinkering. Using a creative “tinker-telling” approach, children engage with story-based challenges in libraries and museums, where they discover how to break down problems, test ideas, and build solutions using everyday materials. By blending imagination with exploration, the project makes early STEM learning joyful, accessible, and meaningful.
Working alongside informal educators and caregivers, the project team will co-design, test, and refine a practical, easy-to-use guidebook that shows how computational thinking can be taught through playful storytelling and tinkering across libraries, museums, and homes. Professional learning opportunities will support educators in these spaces, while caregivers will gain confidence and tools to continue these learning experiences at home. Research will examine how these experiences strengthen children’s computational thinking skills and dispositions, as well as how they build caregiver and educator capacity to support early STEM learning.
This National Science Foundation-funded project will:
* Support the development of computational thinking skills and positive STEM dispositions in young children * Equip library and museum educators with engaging, research-based learning strategies * Empower caregivers to nurture computational thinking at home using everyday materials * Share an empirically tested guidebook nationally, with special attention to rural communities
By reaching families through trusted community spaces like libraries and museums, this project expands early access to computational thinking and helps lay the groundwork for future success in STEM education and careers.