Love of Learning

KidsQuest is celebrating its sixth successful BizQuest corporate fundraising event. BizQuest is a unique way to come together virtually and network with local professionals and community members. The panel this year shared some fantastic insights on how newly learned adaptations in the work place are likely to become lasting business trends.

Madeline Read, Corporate Relations and Event Manager joins us on the podcast to talk about the widespread impacts BizQuest has on the Museum and within the greater community.

If you weren’t able to join us live, you can find a recording of the event on KidsQuest’s YouTube page. Here’s the link to check it out:

In this episode we learn about the incredible collection of dolls that live throughout the Museum’s galleries. Before KidsQuest moved to the space in 2017, the building was home to the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art. Rosalie continues to share her collection of dolls representing cultures from all over the world with KidsQuest visitors. She talks about her experiences opening her very own museum and what dolls can teach us about history and tradition.

Thank you so much to Rosalie Whyel for joining us on this episode. If you want to check out the dolls in person, head over to KidsQuest’s website to purchase tickets. 

KidsQuest is excited to welcome back Low Sensory Afternoons from 3-5 PM on the third Thursday of each month. This very special event is returning on May 20th after a long hiatus due to COVID. As many of us know, visiting KidsQuest can be a loud, bright, shiny, sometimes splashy, experience. For some kids and adult guests too, those stimuli can be overwhelming to the point of being uncomfortable or even unbearable. Low Sensory Afternoons are set aside just for kids and families with sensory sensitivities or anyone with special needs. Registration is free, even if you aren’t a member!

Museum educator, Jenn Boesenberg talks about how the museum created this program specifically for families who have a child living with sensory processing difficulties or who is on the autism spectrum, and her work to make KidsQuest a certified Sensory Accessible Venue.

STEM Paths Innovation Network is a nonprofit working with partners in King County, Washington to design and lead STEAM opportunities to students who otherwise wouldn’t have access to them. According to their website, they’ve served over 800 girls and youth of color through their programming with over 20 community and school partners in the greater Seattle area. Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Shana Beckwith talks with host Allie Cheroutes about creating a future in which all students can see themselves in a STEM field and have the support they need inside and outside the classroom to get there.

Check out their website to learn more about their incredible curriculum and programs:

This episode is all about the Arts in our Full STEAM ahead series exploring Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. What’s the deal with the A in STEAM? Traditionally, the arts and sciences were viewed and treated separately. Now, the wider understanding is that the arts’ role in STEAM is to encourage application of creative thinking and ignite imagination. STEAM is meant to engage both the analytic and creative sides of the brain. Liberal arts, language arts, and physical arts all help prepare kids for an increasingly interdisciplinary world. What innovation would we have without someone first following a creative spark?

In this episode we’ll hear from Sadie Bowman, co-founder and performer in the musical theater group,  Matheatre. Their mission is to get students (and adults!) excited about math and science through comedy. Bowman shares how a musical about calculus turned into a mission to make science and math accessible and fun to all audiences. Fifteen years later, Matheatre tours worldwide performing four shows in schools, museums, and planetariums.

Head over to their website to learn more about their shows, digital offerings, and their own podcast, History Science Theater:

In 2005 Gever Tulley accidentally stumbled into starting his own engineering-based summer camp in his backyard called Tinkering School. In this episode we’ll hear about the philosophy behind this remarkable program and what can happen when you give kids real tools to solve real problems. Hands-on designing, fabricating and constructing empowers kids and helps them test their theories about the world around them. Giving tinkerers tools, autonomy and space has resulted in some unbelievable projects, like a gondola re-imagined as a dragon flying across their warehouse workspace!

This week’s Audio Postcard comes to you from Orcas Island, WA!  The SeaDoc Society is doing some incredible research and conservation work to ensure the health of the Salish Sea, an inland sea encompassing Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and the waters off of Vancouver, British Columbia for generations to come. Their Junior SeaDoctor program gives kids the tools to become their own nature detectives in any ecosystem they explore. You can sign up for free to become a Junior Sea Doctor today and receive your very own laminated nature guide in the mail!

First up in our STEAM exploration series is SCIENCE! Throughout the season we’ll be investigating our way through each of the STEAM concepts. Specifically focusing on the positive ripple effect that happens when we actively engage with our children’s early STEAM learning.  Dr. Ashie Bhandiwad is the founder and CEO of an experiential science education startup called STEMChef. The philosophy behind STEMChef is influenced by her own childhood science education, subsequent career in bioenergy, and especially through moments shared with her young daughter while preparing dinner. 

Start pointing out and initiating science-based conversations during your family time together. Kids will start making connections between the concepts they’re learning in school and situations they come across every day. Developing that emotional connection results in stronger retention and deeper understanding throughout the rest of their education and even into their careers. At the end of the episode Dr. Bhandiwad guides us through a really delicious activity you and your family can try (and then snack on!) together.

KidsQuest is powered by STEAM learning! Check out our YouTube channel for more science-based activities to do with your family:

It’s full STEAM Ahead for Season Two!

KidsQuest is powered by STEAM learning. Our exhibits, classes and home learning activities are all designed to engage kids in Science, technology, engineering, art and math through play. Opportunities for STEAM learning are all around us. I’ll be introducing you to individuals and organizations who are doing some incredible work to shift the perception that science and math can only be found in the classroom or in a lab, or that it can only be done by someone in a white lab coat. Regardless of your age, your gender, your experience level, STEAM learning is for you!

In this episode I’m joined by Dr. Dana Winters, the Faculty Director at the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media. Their mission is guided by Fred’s core belief that the foundation of every child’s healthy development is the power of human connection. We don’t need fancy gadgets or any special training to encourage and participate in science-based play. The key is to create an environment of inquiry-based thinking that celebrates a child’s natural wonder and discovery. Let’s recognize the STEM and STEAM learning potential in everyday moments happening all around us!

In this episode we’ll hear from three local community leaders about their experiences responding to the COVID-19 crisis.  Bellevue School District Superintendent Ivan Duran shares what it was like facing so many unknowns when the school district went remote in March and the new systems the district has developed to make sure all kids have access to education from home.

Tina Vincent, District Director of Youth and Family Programs with the YMCA of Greater Seattle, and Nicole Jackson, Director of Program Operations at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Bellevue share how their teams leapt into action. Within days of the school closures their teams had developed programs ensuring families had childcare, and kids of working parents had support in online learning. These organizations rely on each other and other community partnerships to continue providing services. Nobody can do this work alone! We are all in this together.

KidsQuest is a proud partner of the Bellevue School District, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Bellevue and, The YMCA of Greater Seattle. We have also been working around the clock to continue providing our awesome programs to families at home in creative new ways.

We are so proud to have this incredible group of guests on the podcast. The work they have done for kids and families during these challenging times is truly lifesaving! If you’d like to learn more about any of the programs you hear about on the episode today, I encourage you to check out their websites below:

Did you know we have an entire team of educators working behind the scenes to create the KidsQuest programming you love? Meet Jenn Boesenberg, Chris Cunningham and AJ Curde! In this episode we’ll learn about the special way they develop curriculum to encourage curiosity, spark conversation, and build confidence in discovery.

We just kicked off a new class schedule and continue to find fun, creative ways to bring the magic of KidsQuest into your home.

Take a listen to hear Education Manager AJ unbox one of our new, sensory Kid Kits! Sign up for a subscription and a curated box containing some of our favorite sensory materials will be delivered to you each month.

Check out the KidsQuest website for more information on classes and upcoming programming!

We’re really excited to introduce you to some of the work KidsQuest does on a community-level. KidsQuest is proud to be a partner in the Eastside Pathways network! Their work unites over 60 organizations to set common goals and strategies that shape new systems to support every child in our community from cradle to career.

In this episode we’ll talk with Sandy Nathan, a Community Impact Manager at Eastside Pathways. She shares how the Eastside Pathways partnership utilizes the Collective Impact framework to develop new systems that benefit all kids. It is difficult for individual organizations­­ to tackle systemic problems on their own. But when we all set goals together and bring our diverse skills to the table, we can build new solutions together.

Our President and CEO, Putter Bert has been an active member on the Board of Directors at Eastside Pathways since the very beginning in 2011. We’ll hear from her about an awesome project KidsQuest and Eastside Pathways members created to help support learning while at home due to COVID-19.

Check out the Eastside Pathways website for more information!

KidsQuest wants a future in which all kids can see themselves reflected in the pages of their books. In this episode of the Love of Learning podcast we’ll introduce you to We Need Diverse Books, an awesome grassroots organization advocating for change in the children’s book publishing industry. Let’s produce and promote literature that reflects and honors all young people! Project Director, Caroline Tung Richmond recommends WNDB’s free online app called OurStory. They aim to help families and educators easily find books with diverse content and by content creators from marginalized communities. Link to the OurStory App below!

Our local King Country children’s librarian, Robin Howe catches us up on all the new, innovative digital programs KCLS has been working on this summer. They’re doing incredible work to make sure everyone in our community has access to all the reading and educational materials they need to succeed. Visit their K-12 Education, Caregiver, and Student Support page and you’ll find great ebook recommendations supporting conversations about race and social justice.

Copy this link to check out the MyStory App on the We Need Diverse Book’s Website:

In this episode we’ll hear from three early learning professionals about supporting our kids in their social emotional development.

KidsQuest’s Director of Education, Jamie Bonnett discusses the intentional design behind the museum’s galleries. Each exhibit was built for multidimensional play, taking into account a wide range of ages, abilities and engagement levels. Jamie and her team have created a series of educator-led videos that bring some of our favorite programming right to your dining room table.