At Twin Science, our quest is to create the change-makers of tomorrow through STEM education. Being double-winged means that children and individuals are: 1) equipped with STEM competencies and 2) develop social and emotional skills with a strong sense of social responsibility. By growing these two wings, kids will be empowered to fly high and have a truly positive impact on our world. We believe that to raise such individuals, we need to make learning fun, engaging and inspiring.
Why Double-Winged?
The fact of the matter is that science is not only a matter of the brain but also a matter of the heart. Along with receiving a STEM education and gaining 21st century skills, kids also need to learn social awareness, understand what responsible decision making is, exercise their conscience, and perhaps most importantly, consider the collective wellbeing of society. For a society to thrive we need individuals that are not just subject matter experts but innovators and thinkers that have a strong conscience so that they can work for the greater good of the society of the planet we live on.
How We Nurture Double-Winged Individuals
Under the umbrella of a meaningful social message, our lesson plans, STEM Kits, and the Twin App cover core scientific concepts while instilling social emotional learning and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into our content. Learning about energy conversion while building a drawing robot and exploring the importance of teamwork is just one example of how we offer a well-integrated experience.
Twin Kits
Our award-winningTwin Kits make hands-on learning fun and simple with magnetic modules that can easily be attached and detached. Children can tinker with the modules and see the impact of their creation right away. The kits encourage children to question, create and problem-solve every step of the way, providing them with a medium to hone their 21st century skills. Inside our kits are dozens of projects aimed at teaching critical skills as well as communicating the importance of conscientious design and innovation.
Twin App
The Twin app offers a unique play experience to children, enabling them to discover their passions and unleash their talents in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), as well as the Arts. There are hundreds of fun, hands-on activities and experiments that can be made with simple household items! Activities are designed to improve children’s 21st century skills such as problem solving and creative thinking. There are also many informative and fun animations and videos, followed by fun quizzes and games about a wide range of topics. Children can also play age-appropriate trivia and challenge their peers on Twin! With thousands of kid-friendly questions, Twin offers one of the best trivia experiences out there.
Harness the power of the Sun and join Twing on a fun adventure to help bring electricity back to the island in the Twin App!
An island has lost its electricity! Twing needs your help bringing power back! Go on a fun learning adventure with Twing and discover the secret behind solar energy and the Sun by playing fun games and watching interactive videos.
Here’s a Preview of What You’ll Learn!
Renewable vs. Non Renewable Energy
Before we learn about solar energy, we first need to now the term renewable energy! Renewable energy is energy from sources that are naturally replenishing, including carbon neutral sources like sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. These clean energy sources are available in unlimited supply!
Separately, forms of energy like oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy are nonrenewable and can be depleted. Oil, natural gas, and coal are collectively called fossil fuels and a major problem with fossil fuels, aside from their being in limited supply, is that burning them releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Rising levels carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the main cause of global warming and climate change.
Solar Energy & How Can We Use it
Solar power is energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source available. Solar technologies such as solar panels can harness this energy for a variety of uses, including generating electricity, providing light, and heating water, and more!
Understanding the Sun & Solar Panels
The Sun has multiple layers like a walnut! Just like a walnut, the Sun has a kernel in its center, which we call the core! This is where energy is created. The energy produced here is transmitted to the other layers of the Sun.
The energy in the core is transmitted through energy packets called photons! Photons are the basic units of light. Once photons leave the Sun and reach the earth, we can use solar panels to capture them and convert the energy into thermal and electrical energy!
Fun Facts!
The core of the Sun is around 15.6 million degrees, or equivalent to 100 billion tons of dynamite exploding every second!
Did you know that it takes a long time for a photon to travel from the core to reach the surface? In fact, it takes hundreds of thousands of years!
Renewable sources of energy and technology can help save our planet from climate change!
You’ve learned a ton about the Sun and solar energy! Learn more in the Twin App and help Twing bring electricity back to the island in our adventure titled “Harness the Sun.”
Also, be sure to complete the activity “Make a Sun Model” in the adventure or here on our website!
Twin App is an educational app that kids can play educational games on. Inside we have Trivia, DIY projects, and Adventures that have many learning games for kids. Both the Twin App and Twin Science Kits teach STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) & Arts subjects and 21st century skills.
In Spain, there is currently a project, an experiment that is called the 4 day working week.
I sometimes wonder whether our children would know what to do with that spare day. Because we taught them mathematics, we taught them geography, we taught them just that and the other.
But we haven’t taught them how to volunteer, how to be themselves, how to experience wonder, how to be responsible, how to have fun. All those things. So the question becomes about education and schooling, not for employment but for self deployment. And I think that’s something we need to face head on.
From personal experience, over the last 25 years I’ve been lied to by all sorts of people.
Because every time there was a new piece of technology, I was told that my life would be easier. I’d have less work. I’d work fewer hours. My phone goes off all the time. Because I work globally. I have to physically turn it off because I am getting emails 24 hours. The expectations are that we answer as quickly as possible. So I think one of the lessons we need to learn is that we need to let technology work for us. Rather than for us to be the slave of the demands that technology brings about. And I think some of the issues with people’s mental well being are directly related to this. We are no longer in control.
Perhaps we could compare that side of things back to the early working conditions of the industrial revolution. When people were also under immense pressures, be the different pressures. So I think we have a long journey to go but my main issue is about the quality of life.
And finally, I think the issue of the technology in general is, and covid has shown a light in that sense onto a very ugly dark space. Technology, internet access, and learning through this is a human right.
It is technology to education and internet access in particular to education is what clean water is to health. And if we don’t facilitate this we will become globally less democratic. The gap between have and have not will increase. Because the gap between can and can not has increased. And the irony, that in the 21.century, the gap between rich and poor should become bigger. Because of an invention that had the potential to make the gap smaller is something that we should collectively be ashamed of. That’s the lesson we need to learn very fast.
transcript taken from Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE’s talk – details below
In the United Kingdom, we have the National Health Service. It is 70 or so years old. It is probably, one might argue, the United Kingdom’s finest invention. Because it is an organization that is double-winged: It has the head, it has the heart. And it does those two things brilliantly. Not perfectly, but brilliantly.
Look at what an operating theatre in a hospital looked like a hundred years ago. Look at an operating theatre now. In order to get to the hospital, I need a car. Look at a car from a hundred years ago, look at a car now.
When I fly to İstanbul, a hundred years ago with an airplane, compared to the Turkish Airlines flight now. Look how the world has changed. And look how, in schooling terms, we still deliver the same thing, but we expect outcomes that meet that changed world.
It’s not going to work, is it? At some point, we’re going to need to be brave enough and take stock, and drive change. And I don’t think that change is going to come from politicians. Politicians, by and large, are populists, want to be reelected, and they’re not specialists. The Secretary of State for Education, for instance, is not an education specialist. And many of the people he or she surrounds themselves with are not specialists either. And actually quite often they are either too arrogant or too proud to talk to the specialists and listen to what they’ve got to say.
It’s a very strange thing, education, in that it is shaped by people who know very little about it and the people who know lots about it are deliberately ignored. There is of course also the question about education as something that we all do, that we all have a responsibility for. The businesses, for example, used to have a vested interest: Think of the Industrial Revolution era. Businesses at the moment, some hundred years later, don’t necessarily behave anymore as if they have a vested interest. They sit and they wait for the children to come out of school, and then they go, “They haven’t got the skills we need.”
Well, actually, unfold your arms, roll up your sleeves, and go and work in those schools to have better achievements. Then there is another point, that is for me the biggest difference between a hundred years ago and now. It is a lesson that we need to learn very quickly.
The purpose of schooling a hundred years ago was clear. It was related to the economy and the Industrial Revolution. But that was two hundred years ago – that story was then. We need to ask ourselves the question now, a number of questions really. Why do we send children to school and why is it the same?
The text you have read is taken from The Heart of Science Talks, a series of opinion pieces in video format, with renowned educators, scientists, specialists, and everyone who carries within themselves the heart of science. Topics range from education to robotics, life skills and conscientious thinking. On our Youtube channel, you can watch a new installation every Saturday. These are bite-sized videos & essays, great to accompany your morning coffee. In the next 8 weeks, Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE will take us on a journey through schooling, education, learning, aspiration, and inspiration!
transcript taken from Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE’s talk – details below
Einstein’s definition of insanity, which is something like, you continue to do the same thing but expect different outcomes, for me, reflects the story of education over the last two hundred, or perhaps a hundred years. Why (and actually we need again to distinguish between schooling and education) did we start to school people, little people? We started to school people, because the economy that was growing as part of the Industrial Revolution needed certain skill sets. It needed workers, rather than having little cottage industries. It needed lots of people in one place to produce and it needed those people to have certain skills.
So we built little buildings, we called them schools, and we put people in there, and we taught them what they needed to know to do those jobs. And it worked! I mean you might argue there was still poverty and all those things, but in terms of the schooling process leading to economic success, it worked. Today, we use the same model. See, children used to get six weeks of summer holiday. Why did they need six weeks of holiday? Because they needed to help their parents in their gardens and on their farms with a harvest. It was important, the family had to work together to secure much of the food for the next ten months or so, certainly for the winter: All hands on deck.
Move forward two hundred years and we still have schools, and the children still sit in those rooms (they are probably fewer in the classroom now than they were then). They are still facing the front, because they are being told things, so they have to listen, they still work like office hours, they start at nine in the morning and finish at four in the afternoon, they still have six weeks in the summer.
We still test not what they learned, we test the knowledge they have acquired, we test what they remember. So actually, you just hang on to that picture, and then think of the world, how it’s changed.
The text you have read is taken from The Heart of Science Talks, a series of opinion pieces in video format, with renowned educators, scientists, specialists, and everyone who carries within themselves the heart of science. Topics range from education to robotics, life skills and conscientious thinking. On our Youtube channel, you can watch a new installation every Saturday. These are bite-sized videos & essays, great to accompany your morning coffee. In the next 8 weeks, Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE will take us on a journey through schooling, education, learning, aspiration, and inspiration!
Modern children, more than previous generations, are interested in advanced technologies and robot toys, and that’s a good thing. Well-designed robot toys help kids develop curiosity, creativity, and collaboration skills while introducing kids to engineering.
Are you looking for an effective educational toy? Consider buying a robot. Here is the list of the best robot toys currently available in the market.
Robotic Art Kit by Twin includes a set of electronic bits (fan, power, and slide dimmer) and craft materials (fan filter, confetti paper, and paint, etc.). It’s a perfect option for you if you are looking for a toy that develops kids’ natural creativity and curiosity.
The best thing about this robotic art kit is that it’s LEGO-compatible. It means that your kids can come up with unique STEM projects and realize their creative potential. If your kids are already familiar with LEGO toys and LEGO history, completion of the project will bring them not only joy but also the feeling of accomplishment.
Perfect toy for: Kids who like to be involved in creative projects
Age group: 5-8
Price: $44.90
Benefits of Robotic Art Kit:
Helps to develop creativity
Drives curiosity
Easy to use
Affordable
Ozobot Bit Maker Starter Pack
Ozobot is one of the most miniature programmable robots. It’s equipped with optical sensors that detect colors. Kids can program this robot toy using color language – OzoCodes – making the robot turn, accelerate, slow down, and more.
This toy helps kids learn the basics of programming and develop 21st-century skills such as creativity and critical thinking. Using this toy, children can get familiar with new concepts and master new skills in a fun way.
Perfect toy for: Curious kids who like hands-on experiments
Age group: 6-9
Price: $99.99
Benefits ofOzobot:
Helps to learn the basics of programming using color language
Comes with a USB charging cable, markers, and do-it-yourself accessories
Helps to develop creativity skills
Robot Inventor by LEGO
Many decades ago, the founders of LEGO Company used wood to make simple toys. Today, LEGO is known as one of the most innovative toymakers in the world that heavily invests in research and development (click the link to read more). This well-known company strives to create products that help little learners fall in love with science and new technologies.
Robot Inventor is a toy that opens the world of unlimited educational and playing possibilities for modern kids. The kit comes with more than 900 pieces and a mobile app. It means that children can not only build a robot but also program it.
Perfect toy for: Diligent children who are ready to want to learn coding.
Robo Explorer is a robot toy that kids can rebuild into a robot dog with a light-up jetpack or a robot bird with light-up eyes. The set includes over 200 pieces and LEGO light bricks.
The robot has bright-green eyes, working tracks, and arms with a working claw and searchlight. It can rotate the body and head. If your kids are fans of LEGO brick sets, they will like to build and play with this Robo Explorer.
Do you want to raise the next Elon Musk? Gift this Autonomous Vehicle Kit by Twin to your kids to draw their attention to the use of new technologies and trigger your children’s creative thinking.
Working on the creation of this unique robotic toy, your kids will learn the concepts of self-driving car technologies and better understand the term “artificial intelligence”. Teach your kids in a fun way, and then they will be more open to new learning experiences.
Perfect toy for: Kids who love cars and are interested in advanced technologies
Age group: 7-10
Price: $199.00
Benefits ofAutonomous Vehicle Kit:
Familiarizes kids with the concept of artificial intelligence
Comes with a comprehensive user’s guide
Easy to build
Jimu Robot Kits Meebot 2.0 Kit by UBTECH
Jimu Robot is interesting to build, fun to code, and great to play with. The kit includes 390 interlocking parts and connectors as well as motion robotic servo motors. This toy is just perfect for hands-on STEM learning.
By working on this project, your kids will understand that engineering is a fun thing. They will try to program the LED lights and customized dance sequences of the robot toy. They will gain their very first coding experience, and probably it will influence their future career choice.
Perfect toy for: Diligent children who like hands-on STEM learning
Age group: 8+
Price: $129.95
Benefits ofJimu Robot:
3D, 360° building instructions are available via JIMU app.
The toy provides an interactive STEM learning experience.
Allows creating custom actions with the PRP (Pose, Record, Play) function
Wrapping up
There are many robot toys out there. Your task is to choose a toy that matches your kids’ interests and is suitable for your kids’ age while also is affordable for your family.
All these six robot toys provide great opportunities for effective hands-on STEM learning. If you still don’t know what toy to pick, show this list of toys to your kids and allow them to make a final decision.
BIO: Marques Coleman is an educational writer and content creator. He promotes the use of new technologies for early childhood education and advocates the use of innovative toys. Marques is a blogger and volunteer at a local youth center.
