“Curiosity is as important as intelligence.” Harvard Business Review, August 27, 2014
Irvine, CA (PRWEB) February 04, 2015
The Curiosity Workshop LLC today announces the launch of thecuriosityworkshop.com, an educational website designed to inspire children and instill a sense of curiosity about the world –– one that will positively impact their learning.
“The Curiosity Workshop is designed to get children asking, thinking, reading and doing,” says site creator Mia Nicklin. “Children by nature are curious. But for most, curiosity fades and needs to be encouraged. When kids stay curious, learning improves. Our goal is to encourage a child's natural instinct to ask questions and learn about the world around them.”
Each week the site covers a variety of topics, including adventure, art, ask-an-expert, endangered species, global sports, science, paleo, where-in-the-world, and more. The topics are packaged in individual curiosities: short, intelligent, visual and interesting sound bites, exactly what gets and keeps kids engaged –– and learning.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND CURIOSITY
Why encourage curiosity? Because scientists have found that curiosity has a direct link to better learning and improved long-term memory. A recent study from the University of California, Davis suggests that “when our curiosity is piqued, changes in the brain ready us to learn not only about the subject at hand, but incidental information, too.” (Scientific American, October 2, 2014). The Harvard Business Review says "curiosity is as important as intelligence.” (HBR, August 27, 2014). A study published in the October 2014 issue of the journal Neuron “suggests that the brain's chemistry changes when we become curious, helping us better learn and retain information.” (National Public Radio, October 24, 2014). In short, the findings on curiosity and learning point not only to improved learning but to more effectively remembering what was learned.
Subscriptions to thecuriosityworkshop.com are available for $4.95/month, with new content provided weekly. A sneak peek of the site can be found at thecuriosityworkshop.com/news. For more information email info(at)thecuriosityworkshop(dot)com.
ABOUT THE TEAM
Site creator, Mia Nicklin, is a mother to a world-traveling, safari-loving, 10-year-old boy who loves leopards, skateboarding and everything about the sea. Concerned that his schoolwork left him uninspired, she began writing daily curiosities for him, that inspired and interested her as well. Those posts grew into thecuriosityworkshop.com which has, along with his global adventures, made him more curious about the world and everything in it.
Writer/contributor/teacher, Jeri Van Blaricom Hanson, has been teaching students how to explore the world through the written word for over 15 years. An MFA graduate from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she navigates the dance between art and writing and is constantly asking why.
Content for the site is provided by a team of world travelers, educators, explorers, wordsmiths, artists, writers, scientists, safari guides, and more, with contributing writers from around the world. A teacher advisory board helps to ensure that the approach is on target.
TWELVE TIPS FOR NURTURING YOUR CHILD'S CURIOSITY
Wondering how to encourage and develop your kid’s curiosity? Try these twelve tips compiled by The Curiosity Workshop’s teacher advisory board.
1) Ask WHY, why and why again. Answer your child’s questions and encourage them to ask more. And if you don’t know the answer, find it. Investigate together.
2) Initiate dinnertime CONVERSATION: choose a topic (perhaps one from thecuriosityworkshop.com) and discuss it over spaghetti and meat balls.
3) Be a good ROLE MODEL: if you’re curious, they will learn from you. Step up your curiosity and it will inspire theirs.
4) Serve their BREAKFAST along with an interesting article/question/page-of-a-book to wake up their mind and their curiosity.
5) Identify THEIR areas of interest and dig further.
6) Expand their VOCABULARY: keep an ongoing, growing list of words your child finds interesting or amusing.
7) Send them OUTSIDE and ask them to question what they see. Show them how to observe the sights, sounds, and smells of the world around them.
8) Ask them how they would MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the world and then encourage them to learn/do more.
9) Get a GLOBE. Spin it and have your child stop it with their finger. Then learn more about that point on the globe. Make maps a part of their world. Bring a more global world view into your child's life and explore together.
10) Use CAR TIME as curiosity time. After all, they’re a captive (and curious) audience.
11) REDUCE the noise and electronic clutter. Give the TV, iPad and X-box a rest.
12) Keep it simple. And short. Most of all, make it FUN.
Social media:
https://www.facebook.com/thecuriosityworkshop
https://www.pinterest.com/thecuriositywor/
https://twitter.com/curiousandsmart
Media contact:
Linda Landers
Girlpower Marketing
949.633.2283
linda(at)girlpowermarketing(dot)com
Article links:
Harvard Business Review, August 27, 2014: https://hbr.org/2014/08/curiosity-is-as-important-as-intelligence/
Scientific American, October 2, 2014: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/curiosity-prepares-the-brain-for-better-learning/
National Public Radio, October 24, 2014: http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/10/24/357811146/curiosity-it-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-it-helps-us-learn