In some Fort Dodge households, little mechanical critters called hex bugs are slowly working their way through mazes and over bridges.

Rockets made of straws are sailing through rooms, perhaps buzzing a snoozing pet or two.

And kids are painting with pendulums in an activity designed to bring out their creativity.

The gear for all those activities was included in boxes called STEAM kits which were mailed last week to 200 families who signed up for them. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

Each box contains items for five activities intended to encourage young people to innovate and practice problem solving skills. Those activities are building bridges for the hex bugs, creating mazes for the hex bugs, building rockets out of straws, painting with a pendulum and putting together paper puzzles called tangrams.

Some of that stuff seems like it would be fun even for adults. But what’s most important is that while the kids are having fun with these kits they’re learning skills applicable to future studies and eventually careers.

The Iowa STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Council and Iowa Central Career Connections paid for the kits.

The key people involved in the project were Kelly Bergman, north central regional manager of the Iowa STEM Council; Dawn Larson, economic development specialist for the city of Fort Dodge; Megan Kruse, work-based learning coordinator at Iowa Central Community College; and Ed Birkey, robotics teacher at Fort Dodge Senior High School.

Marissa Hamilton and Aubry Salgren, owners of the Artist Warehouse in Fort Dodge, helped to create the painting element of the kits.

Kids might gripe about going to science or math class, but they probably won’t complain about doing the activities in these STEAM kits. While they’re doing those activities, they’re learning skills from the realms of math, science and other fields. That’s what makes these kits innovative and exciting.

We hope the STEAM kit program continues and grows in the future.