Inside a Startup After-School STEAM Program

Founding an education business comes with challenges and rewards, far beyond the financials. Guest EJ Zain talks about this first-hand. EJ founded the startup Maker Kids Lab, LLC, in Austin, Texas. Her very new startup runs after-school programs for middle schoolers in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). In her lessons, Zain and her team of helper-teachers guide students of different ages to work together on hands-on, creative projects. She discusses her motivations for starting Maker Kids Lab as a parent, her strategies for engaging kids, and her hopes for creating a business with a social impact. Mentioned in this episode: • Maker Kids Lab on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Makerkidslab/ • Maker Kids Lab on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makerkidslab/ • The 4 C’s of Problem-Based Learning (PBL): https://www.bie.org/blog/the_power_of_the_4cs_the_foundation_for_creating_a_gold_standard_for_projec • TechShop: http://www.techshop.ws/ • Hexbugs: https://www.hexbug.com/ • Small Business Administration (SBA): https://www.sba.gov/ • InnovateHER, an SBA business competition: https://www.sba.gov/offices/headquarters/wbo/resources/1465581 • Website of Maker Kids Lab, LLC: https://www.makerkidslab.com/ Mentioned in the post-show notes: • Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs • Panelpicker for South by Southwest (SXSW) 2018 (deadline July 21): http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ Our closing music is from "Late for School" by Bleeptor, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com. Help Pios Labs continue! You can donate at: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs Also check out these projects from Pios Labs: • Engineering Word Of The Day (EWOTD) podcast: http://engineeringwordoftheday.com • Guidebook “Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games” by Pius Wong, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers: http://www.pioslabs.com/improv4design.html