Storybook Engineers

In Storybook Engineers, students engage in the engineering design cycle through the lens of storytelling. By connecting classic, contemporary, multicultural, and international tales to real-world design challenges, students discover how design thinking can be applied to solve problems in meaningful and creative ways. Each session begins with a shared story. Students analyze the narrative, empathize with the characters, and identify obstacles that serve as springboards for innovative problem-solving. Using everyday materials, students collaborate to brainstorm, build, test, and improve their own engineering solutions.

Research supports the powerful impact of integrating narrative and engineering design: pairing the emotional resonance of storytelling with hands-on STEM challenges significantly enhances students’ literacy development and engineering mindsets. This interdisciplinary approach fosters deeper engagement and stronger retention of both language and STEM concepts.

Each trimester features a unique set of stories and engineering challenges. Students may find themselves exploring what floats or sinks, what can carry the most weight, what can travel the farthest or fastest, or how to build something that climbs higher or defies gravity — all while building foundational skills in critical thinking, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.