People at MIT know “mens et manus,” or “mind and hand,” as the school motto. But it’s also a good framework for early childhood education. Kids often learn best when they’re allowed to explore the environment around them, building models of the world by picking things up and moving them around.
Back in 2014, that insight was the inspiration for a Media Lab project that designed new learning environments. Four years later, that project became the inspiration for a startup called Learning Beautiful.
Learning Beautiful makes tactile materials to inspire hands-on learning for kids between the ages of 3 and 9. The materials, which are designed to explain simple concepts in computer science, promote child-driven, physical learning that aligns with the Montessori method of education.
“For young children, being able to build and then experience with…
