Press Release

(New York, NY Feb. 19. 2021)– The GIANT Room, an innovation hub for children and their families, is excited to announce they are partnering with Generation Two (G2) in Rochester NY to expand play opportunities for children by launching the STEAM in Everyday Moments project. This work is made possible by the Kaboom!’s Play Everywhere challenge, supported by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, of which we were grant award recipients.

Central to The GIANT mission, is the notion that all children should have access to quality STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) learning experiences. “We know that STEAM learning experiences foster creative confidence, experimentation, and
collaboration. Our long-term vision is to increase kids’ readiness to face the fast paced ever changing future and ultimately, help empower them to build the world they want to live in. We also recognize the opportunity and access to STEAM experiences is not equal. We must make efforts to reach communities that may not have immediate access, and think differently about the spaces and places where families might gain access, which is what our STEAM in Everyday Moments project is all about” said, Dr. Azi Jamalian, Founder and CEO of The GIANT Room.

The STEAM in Everyday Moments project will enable STEAM kits designed by The GIANT Room to be distributed throughout communities in Rochester via the G2 network. The STEAM experiences provided in these kits are playful and tap into young children’s familiar play patterns, in particular pretend play, role play, and storytelling. In addition, the experience is designed to highlight fabrication, design, and engineering techniques that go into designing toys and play tools – making it possible for kids to think like a maker and build their own playthings, while prompting engineering, design and hands-on making experiences.

The GIANT kits will provide tangible materials fabricated with technologies like laser cutsand 3D printers in addition to carefully curated and developmentally appropriate arts and crafts materials. These materials will be paired with a theme that kids can relate to and they will create things and play with the objects they make. For example, kids are invited to Make Their Own City by building their own buildings, cars, and food carts, making tasty treats and feeding them to different customer characters. These kits will be distributed via G2, to local businesses in Rochester New York where you might not expect to find artifacts to encourage play.

Children should play every day, that is the concept aligned to the KABOOM! Grant challenge and the intent behind the STEAM in Everyday Moments project. “We are extremely excited to have a community partner, like G2 who closely aligns with our thinking on the importance of play. At GIANT play based methodologies are baked into the experiences enabling a more whimsical and motivating learning opportunity. We say we spark children’s interests across STEAM topics to encourage children to continue to explore and wonder based on their own interests” said Jessica Mezei, co-founder of The GIANT Room. Generation Two (G2) has a commitment to using play as a vehicle for well-being. Their model uses child-directed play with adult buddies that fosters intergenerational bonds. This approach meaningfully enhances delivery opportunities for the play kits and dovetails with their ongoing work through
the Please Play campaign.

The shared goal is to create opportunities for play while allowing for increased exposure to STEAM education. We are delighted to launch this project to spark joy in families lives especially during a challenging time in the world, play is needed perhaps more than ever!

Please follow @thegiantroom on Instagram for updates and photos of kits and making. Also, for more information about GIANT STEAM programs, hours, and a full list of their camps, workshops, class series, and events, visit The GIANT Room’s website. To learn more about their approach to education watch Dr. Jamalian’s TED talk. The GIANT Room is located at 550 West 28th Street. New York, NY.

To learn more about how Generation Two dynamically links civic engagement, child-directed, intergenerational friendships, and child advocacy to strengthen the young child’s social and emotional life visit G2rochester.org.