Kiddipedia
By Dr. Adam Seldow, Senior Director, Education Policy, Roblox
With National Science Week approaching and NAPLAN results arriving across the country, many families are looking for practical ways to spark curiosity and keep children engaged with STEAM learning beyond the classroom.
Learning through play
Outside of the classroom, children can engage with STEAM topics in a range of less structured ways, including video games.
In fact, some of the most valuable learning opportunities are happening in digital spaces, where online games can help children develop skills such as artistic creativity, problem solving, collaboration, and digital literacy. Via these fun, hands-on experiences, young people are exploring coding, ecosystems, 3D art, physics, and scientific discovery in engaging ways that feel more like play than education.
Many of the skills at the heart of science – asking questions, experimenting, solving problems, collaboration and learning from failure – are the same skills young people can develop through gaming.
Whether kids are learning how to code, designing solutions to challenges, exploring virtual ecosystems, or composing fashion designs, online games can help make STEAM subjects feel more engaging, accessible and relevant to the next generation.
Five games worth exploring
On Roblox, parents, educators, and students can discover free games covering everything from computer science and engineering to environmental sustainability, space exploration, and maths.
These games are a great place to start:
- Museum Tycoon – As players design, build and curate their museum and unlock new exhibits, they’re introduced to scientific principles, engineering and robotics concepts, and the role technology plays in everyday life
- Studio Lite: Players can learn coding and game design fundamentals, while exploring careers in software engineering and game development
- Scripting School: An introduction to coding designed to make it easy for people to become developers with four different languages
- Circuit Maker 2: Learn how electronics work
- Math Obby: A maths challenge with a twist
Why not explore one of these games together during this National Science Week and see what sparks your child’s imagination?
Supporting age-appropriate exploration online
For children under 16, Roblox also offers age-based accounts – Roblox Kids and Roblox Select. These new account types are designed to help ensure age-appropriate experiences for younger players, and give parents and carers greater control over how their kids engage on the platform.
Get in the game
If you’re new to gaming, and Roblox feels unfamiliar, Family Zone is trying to change that by giving parents and kids a reason to play together. Family Zone is an immersive 3D game available on Roblox, designed as a shared digital playground where a parent and child can co-play, bond, and build healthy digital habits together.
The idea is simple – the best way to understand a platform your child loves is to actually play it with them, side by side. Co-play can also be a great way to have fun together with your child, and help you understand why they enjoy gaming so much.
And for both parents and teachers, Roblox’s online Learning Hub is a useful resource, making it easy to find fun educational games across a wide range of learning areas. National Science Week is a great time to dive in!
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By Dr. Adam Seldow, Senior Director, Education Partnerships, Roblox
Dr. Adam Seldow serves as Senior Director of Education Policy at Roblox with the goal of contributing to the next generation of creators. Dr. Seldow taught secondary school mathematics and led technology in large U.S. school systems. He earned his undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and his master’s and doctoral degrees in education policy and leadership from Harvard University.
