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KiwiCo & the Flat Stanley Project

Have you heard of The Flat Stanley Project? It was created in Canada by Dale Hubert in 1995 as a way to engage his 3rd grade students in literacy, geography, and social studies. Kids cut out and color a fictional character named Stanley, then mail him to a friend. One may have arrived at your house from a friend who lives far away… or you may have supported your kiddo in finding a distant friend or relative to ship her Flat Stanley off to.

Stanleys have traveled all over the world this way!

Here at KiwiCo, we don’t have Stanleys, but we do have Steve! Steve the Kiwi has traveled all over the world. Here are a few of his recent adventures.

Steve skiing in Tahoe
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Maker Profile: The Inventor of Post-it Notes


Did you know that the inventor of Post-it Notes, a convenient office supply that we take for granted, created them completely by accident?

Much like with our exploration of the invention of Silly Putty, the original inventor of Post-its was trying to make a better version of something that already existed. In this case, he was working on a better adhesive–something like tape or glue. Spencer Silver, a chemist at 3M, was trying to create “a better, stronger, tougher adhesive.” And guess what? He totally failed!

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Introducing Atlas!

As parents, we really want our kids to see themselves as citizens of our global community: to develop an appreciation for other cultures, and to grow their understanding of – and empathy for – communities and customs beyond their own experience. But it can certainly be a challenge to help our kids gain that perspective – especially since their lifetime orbits generally extend not much further than 5 miles from home!

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Astronomy for Kids

Astronomy is the study of the sky above us, and everything in it. When we think about astronomy, we might just think of the night sky. But did you know that the stars and moon are always up above us? We just can’t see them during the daytime because the sun is so bright. It’s amazing to think that stars are so far away that they appear as tiny pinpricks of light, when in fact, they can be as big as the Sun, or even bigger! Continue reading “Astronomy for Kids”