Take advantage of a day inside to expand how your child thinks of technology by setting up an indoor scavenger hunt. By using creative prompts, you can show your child that technology goes far beyond screens to include items your family uses every day!

Learning Goals

• Make Thoughtful Decisions
• Communicate Thinking
• Build STEM Knowledge

Suggested Materials

• Pen and paper (optional)
• Camera phone (optional)

Instructions

• Ask your child, “What do you think the word technology means?” If they immediately think of items with screens, guide them to think about other objects or processes that have solved problems or made our lives easier. For example, eyeglasses or post-it notes and plumbing systems or barcodes are all examples of technology that have made our lives easier. This will expand their idea of what technology is.
• Tell your child that you are going to send them on a scavenger hunt to look for different kinds of technology around your house.
• Choose your scavenger hunt prompts (see list below). You can use a pen and paper to make a list of all the things you find, or a camera phone to take a picture of each item. Let your child choose the items they think answer the prompt first, without questioning what they pick.
• Prompts to choose from:
  • Can you find objects around our house that didn’t exist 10 years ago? (Smart speaker, smart watch, etc.)
  • Can you find objects around our house that didn’t exist 50 years ago? (Computer, smart phone, etc.)
  • Can you think of any processes we use in our house that are examples of technology? (Indoor plumbing, WiFi, mail delivery)
  • Can you find things around our house that have helped people solve problems? (Baskets, rope, etc.)

Tips for Adults

• To further expand your child’s understanding of technology, set up a time for them to interview grandparents or older relatives. Help them come up with questions, such as, “What is a new technology created in your lifetime?” or “What is a technology that you used when you were growing up that we don’t use anymore?”
• Take it apart! If you have an older piece of technology that you don’t use anymore, such as cassette tapes or a rotary phone, collaborate with your child to take it apart and explore the pieces inside. Seeing how these items are put together can spark your child’s own imagination and inventive spirit.