Curiosity is one of the core elements of learning; its definition is the desire to learn something. Curiosity motivates children to:

• learn about subjects that interest them
• ask questions
• further their understanding of certain topics.

Allowing curiosity to guide learning will engage the child, parent, and teacher, in addition to teaching children how to ask questions and direct their own learning experience. A curiosity project is the perfect assignment to encompass self-guided and inquiry-based learning.

What Is a Curiosity Project?

A curiosity project is basically a mini research project, in which children use inquiry-based research about whatever topic they’re interested in to create a presentation on that topic. The topic can be anything they’re interested in: dolphins, superheroes, WWII, skateboarding, soccer, painting, etc. As long as children are interested and curious about their subject, they will be motivated to research it.

How they present the research is also up to them; children can create a slideshow, a blog, an iMovie, a traditional report, a web page, an art project, a newsletter—anything! All of these options are free, easy to use, and great for expressing creativity. Google has a few great options that are easy to use, create, and share. For example:

• Google Slides for presentation format These bullets should be the same format as the ones above
• Google Docs for blogs, webpage design, or a traditional report
• Google Docs also has templates to make each project look fun, neat, and colorful!

Steps to Assigning and Creating a Curiosity Project

1. Start with introducing curiosity and why it’s an important part of learning.
   
   • What makes a person curious?
   • How does being passionate about something drive your curiosity?
2. Have children create a list of ten potential topics that they’re interested in. Again, these can be any topic they can find information on and present about.
3. Children will pick one topicfrom their potential list to create their project about.
4. Children will answer three initial questions about their topic:
   
   1. What is your topic?
   2. Why are you interested in this topic?
   3. Why is this topic challenging for you?
5. Explore the topic:
   Projects should address multiple perspectives on the topic so that it is challenging and presents a well-rounded view of the topic. For example, skateboarding is now a social activity, but historically it was also a great sport and has produced many competitions and athletes. Scientifically, skateboarding is a great example of physics concepts like gravity, force, and motion. These are all aspects of one topic that can be explored. Other concepts include:
   
   1. Socially or emotionally
   2. Historically
   3. Scientifically
   4. Environmental
   5. Artistically
   6. Gathering information
6. Discuss questions
   
   1. Write at least 10 question about a topic
   2. Types of questions that should be answered in project
      
      • Factual, 5W’s (who, what, when, where, why)
      • Analytical: Compare relationships between your topic and others
      • Evaluative: Your child should give his or her opinion on the topic or his or her response
7. Refine research
   
   1. Go back through your research and take out unimportant information
   2. Make sure your research addresses important aspects of the topic
8. Create presentation format
   
   1. Take your information and turn it into a presentation with these free formats:
      iMovie
      Google blog: blogs are a series of articles written around a theme/topic
      Google Slide Show
      Google Webpage
      YouTube Video
      Write a comic book and illustrate it
      Write a journal or book
      Create an artistic presentation board
   2. Be creative in your presentation and adhere to copyright laws. Images, music, quotes, and other materials used should give credit to the original owner/creator. For more information about copyright laws for students and where to find free images and music, check out this article.

Resources to Help Spark Curiosity:

• Skill Sharpeners: Science: This activity book covers many different scientific concepts in different scientific areas. Your child may already be interested in one of these concepts and can base his or her curiosity project on it.
• Skill Sharpeners: Geography: If your child is interested in map skills, regional nature concepts, or geography in general, use this workbook to spark his or her interest in a specific topic.
• Science Lessons and Investigations: This inquiry-based learning resource can help with the asking-questions process and inspire curiosity about all kinds of scientific concepts.
• STEAM Project-Based Learning: The engaging STEAM tasks in this project-based learning resource provide meaningful learning opportunities for students as they work together to study current real-world problems and strategize solutions to help create a better world.

Curiosity is the driving force of learning, and this curiosity project takes advantage of it by using self-guided and self-driven exploration. This type of inquiry-based learning project is a great activity for:

• The classroom.
• Homeschooling.

Children will be more motivated and engaged when they’re learning about something they’re interested in, so allowing them to independently create a project about whatever they want will produce great results!

Emphasize asking questions, as this will foster their curiosity in the future. Encourage them to use their curiosity and creativity to ask questions, research answers, and design a presentation that will develop their thinking skills, inquiry-based learning, and more!

For more educational ideas and resources for grades PreK–8, subscribe to Evan-Moor’s free education newsletter. 

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Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.