Project Grant 2415398

This federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) provides $733,043 to Loyola University of Chicago to engage Latinx families as design partners in creating equitable informal engineering learning opportunities for young children. The project aims to understand how Latinx families' practices around engineering and oral storytelling can inform the design of new engineering activities that recognize and build upon the assets of these communities. Working with community leaders, educators, and researchers, the project will co-design 90 hands-on engineering activities with Latinx caregivers and their 5- to 8-year-old children. These co-designed programs will be implemented in community-based and museum settings, impacting over 100 families annually. The project will also produce a design narrative and toolkit to share effective practices for co-creating engineering learning opportunities that reflect families' cultural resources and everyday practices.