START STEM Spring Sale
Give Your K-2 Students an Engaging Start in STEM
Launch an exciting, hands-on program easily with Start STEM – Complete with Robots, Screen-Free Coding, Curriculum & Teacher Training. Perfect for beginners and fits into your existing curriculum. Watch the smiles as they learn how to be like an engineer with the fun mTiny panda-like robot!
See example classroom implementations in the video ->
Limited time offers available!
Step-by-step lesson plans with standards alignment
Teacher training with CS education specialists
Interactive maps, coding cards, and screen-free mTiny robots
Starting STEM in K-2 Shouldn't Be Complicated.
Teachers love how seamlessly our Start STEM prgram fits into centers, small groups, or whole class time—with minimal prep and maximum engagement. Students love being like an engineer as they play games, act out stories, and control their adorable panda-like robots on fun expeditions using the country or town themed maps.
- Coding cards to teach sequence and CS
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Presentations for walking through activities and a printable Engineering Notebook with handouts - Apply math to count, add, subtract, and multiply to control the robot
- Read aloud activity book so students can work independently
- Screen-free Panda robots and controller
- Interactive themed maps of city and country
- Enhance social-emotional skills with robot expressions and games
- Robot mimics a panda, dog, cat, and chicken!
Empower Your Teachers, Inspire Your Students
Through interactive learning and proven classroom strategies, we deliver professional development that improves STEM outcomes. We’ll show you ways to keep students engaged, help refine STEM teaching skills and gain confidence in your delivery methods using helpful tools.
Schools implementing Start STEM report increased student engagement, improved problem-solving abilities across subjects, growth in sequential thinking skills, and higher teacher confidence in technology integration.
Explore a suite of digital STEM resources
We offer a comprehensive set of lessons to support teachers and encourage students to dive into STEM education.
- 20 presentations for over 20+ hours of learning. Each lesson is broken up by the 5E format to keep activities short and engaging.
- Objectives, standards, and teacher lesson plans for standalone course or integration with existing curriculum.
- Students are encouraged to act like an engineer and learn about various careers in STEM.
- Each lesson includes videos, read aloud storybook activities for independent work, screen-free coding, handouts, and step-by-step guides.
- Final capstone project for final evaluations and/or showcase events.
Fun STEM-themed content makes learning both relevant and exciting while helping educators engage all students. Integrated concepts include animal habitats, counting, patterns, sequencing, and more. See list in standards below.
Science and Engineering
Science: Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Light and sound waves; Cause and effect, animal habitats.
Engineering: Collaborate, create models and drawings, use the Engineering Design Process, ask questions, make observations, solve problems.
Technology and CS
Technology: Apply CSTA-K-2 coding; analyze problems, use logic and develop reasoning, use sequence, loops, events, conditionals, understand human-robot interactions, cultural and social interactions, and algorithms.
ELA and SEL
ELA: Storytelling, sequencing, vocabulary building, writing, reading, spatial concepts, signs and symbols.
SEL: Listening and responding, self-management, independence, collaboration and leadership, confidence, persistence and resilience
Mathematics
Math: Reason abstractly and solve multi-step real world problems, number sense, counting, symbols, spatial sense, shapes and patterns, parts and wholes, sets and groups, sorting and categorizing, sequencing, comparison, tell time, create music.
The Start STEM Implementation Journey
Get a classroom set, join a virtual training, get pre-built online lessons, and enjoy learning and teaching STEM.
1. Order Your Classroom Set (Store link) >
Order a class set of 8, 12, or 24 robot kits. Add curriculum and PD.
2. Teacher Onboarding
Schedule your first online coaching session (2-4 hours)
3. Classroom Launch
Begin teaching with confidence using guided lesson plans
4. Ongoing Support
Additional coaching sessions included as well as support
It was a big push for our kids and teachers to have STEM embedded in the classroom curriculum. We didn’t want it to be something separate. We want it to be something that drives instruction and computational thinking while enhancing our learners... Our work with Exploring Robotics uses curriculum that allows them to do a deeper dive.
Andrea Huff
Career & STEM Academy Director at Barr-Reeve Community Schools
Students playing Red Light Green Light
With the right tools, any teacher can be a STEM teacher.
Exploring Robotics curricula can be used by any grade level teacher, media specialist, camp facilitator, or club educator. Start STEM easily with a classroom pack that includes everything needed for success.
Everything you need, zero prep
Our program is broken into 3 core product options so that you can build a comprehensive curriculum or supplement your existing course materials.
Comprehensive K-2 curriculum (10 weeks of lessons)
- Teacher lesson plans, slides, and student printable Engineering Notebook activities
- Access to online training portal (12-month license)
- Standards alignment documentation for administrators
- Technical support for the entire school year
- Virtual coaching PD sessions for your teaching team
Class Sets of 8, 12, or 24 mTiny Robot Kits with controllers
- Set of coding cards and emotion cards for each robot
- Interactive storyboard themed mats (town and country)
Student practicing sequencing before coding mTiny
"There are two really key things missing from the district: Arts and STEM. Especially in the younger grades... Being able to fill that void and create curiosity and passion. Students are building an interest."
Devin Chisholm
Detroit Public Schools
Have Questions? (FAQ)
Q: Do our K-2 teachers need prior coding or robotics experience?
- A: Absolutely not! Start STEM is designed for beginners. Our training and easy-to-use materials (especially the screen-free coding) equip teachers with everything they need to succeed.
Q: Is it screen-free?
- A: Yes! The coding activities use physical directional cards to program the robot. It’s a hands-on, kinesthetic approach perfect for K-2 learners and classrooms looking to manage screen time effectively. No devices or apps are required.
Q: What age group is Start STEM specifically for?
- A: Our curriculum, robots, and activities are developmentally tailored for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd-grade students.
Q: Does Start STEM align with educational standards?
- A: Yes, the program is designed to align with foundational learning goals and the principles outlined in the K-12 Computer Science Framework and emerging state science and engineering standards for early grades. Math and ELA standards are also included for integrated lessons.
Q: What kind of support is included besides the materials?
- A: We provide comprehensive professional development training, detailed teacher guides, lesson plans, and ongoing support resources to ensure a smooth and successful implementation.
Q: What if my school has a difficult time integrating lessons into their curriculum?
- A: We offer a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. If you don’t see increased teacher confidence and student engagement, we’ll provide additional training and support at no cost.
Q: How does STEM fit into an already packed curriculum?
- A: Effective early STEM programs like Start STEM integrate with existing subjects rather than competing for time. Our activities enhance math, science, and ELA instruction while building computational thinking skills.
Q: How does the cost of this program compare to others?
- A: The mTiny robot from Makeblock is one of the most budget-friendly options for early STEM learning. With mTiny , you’re getting a screen-free, story-driven experience, interactive story maps and books, and accessories—everything needed for success. Fewer add-ons. More value. mTiny stands out because it’s: Screen-free, meaning no extra devices or apps; Emotionally expressive (facial expressions + sound); Highly interactive—students guide it through stories and challenges; Curriculum-ready, right out of the box. In contrast, Sphero Indi and Bee-Bot are great intro tools, but offer limited interaction, fewer feedback cues, and less flexibility for differentiated learning. Dash robots are also highly interactive, but accessories are extra, and they require devices and apps.
Q: How do teachers without tech backgrounds succeed with Start STEM programs?
- A: With the right curriculum design and support, prior technical knowledge becomes unnecessary. Start STEM provides step-by-step guidance, ready-to-use materials, PD and ongoing coaching specifically designed for teachers with no previous experience.
Inspire Your Youngest Innovators
The Start STEM program provides the tools, curriculum, and support to build a thriving K-2 STEM foundation at your school. Give your students the gift of early exposure to critical thinking, problem-solving, and computational skills in a way they’ll love.
