Children as Natural Engineers: Fostering Creativity and Problem-Solving Through Play

Did you know that when a child pulls a blanket to bring a toy closer, experiments to make toy cars go faster down a ramp, or works out how to carry water without spilling it, they are actually practicing engineering thinking? These everyday actions reveal the same creative, problem-solving, and experimental skills that professional engineers use to innovate and shape the world.

A recent study, Situating Engineering within the Australian Pre-Tertiary Education System (Cohrssen et al., 2025), found that while engineering isn’t explicitly mentioned in the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (EYLF V2.0) (AGDE, 2022), the behaviours that define engineering are naturally embedded in children’s play. This is significant because engineers are the innovators who turn imagination into real-world solutions (Engineers Australia, 2024). By nurturing these skills early, educators can help develop the next generation of problem solvers and creators.

Australia’s Urgent Need for Engineers

Australia is facing a serious shortage of engineers. Current graduate numbers fall far short of demand, and the country depends heavily on skilled engineers moving here from overseas. Around 25,000 engineers are expected to retire by 2026 (Consult Australia & Engineers Australia, 2024), and rapid technological advances are increasing the need for qualified professionals.

Alarmingly, research shows that only about one in five women working in engineering had considered it as a career before senior secondary school (Engineers Australia, 2022). This highlights a missed opportunity to spark interest in engineering during the formative years of education. Early experiences that promote curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving are crucial for shaping children’s perceptions of engineering as an accessible and exciting career path.

What Engineering Looks Like in Early Childhood

Many people think of engineering as purely maths and science. In reality, it’s much broader. Engineers solve problems using maths and science, but they also rely heavily on creativity, innovation, ethical thinking, collaboration, and communication (McKinnie, 2021). These are exactly the skills early childhood education already encourages.

Cohrssen et al. (2025) identified five engineering behaviours children naturally demonstrate in play:

• Asking questions or setting goals – e.g., “I want to make the water go over there.”

• Explaining how things work – e.g., “The ramp needs to be higher to make the cars go faster.”

• Constructing things – building with blocks, loose parts, or recycled materials.

• Solving problems – figuring out why a structure collapses or an experiment fails.

• Evaluating their work – testing whether their solution achieves the intended outcome.

These behaviours align closely with EYLF V2.0 Learning Outcomes 4 (Confident and involved learners) and 5 (Effective communicators) (AGDE, 2022). Children naturally integrate maths, science, and technology as they explore and test their ideas during play.

Seeing Play Through an Engineering Lens

Viewing children’s play as engineering thinking can transform how educators observe, document, and extend learning. For example, block play isn’t just about creativity or social interaction—it’s an opportunity to experiment, problem-solve, and test ideas.

Makerspaces—areas filled with craft materials, recycled objects, simple construction items, and tools—are particularly effective in early childhood settings. Research shows these spaces encourage trial-and-error, experimentation, and iterative design, all essential elements of engineering thinking (Hatzigianni et al., 2021).

Encouraging children to explain their thinking—what they plan, why they made certain choices, and what they might try next—deepens engagement. Open-ended questions like, “Why do you think this happened?” or “How might you try it differently?” promote higher-order thinking, including analysing, evaluating, and synthesising ideas. In contrast, closed questions often limit exploration and creativity.

The Importance of Intentional Early Learning

Cohrssen et al. (2025) highlight the need for better alignment between early childhood and school curricula to ensure engineering learning builds progressively. Currently, engineering concepts in the Australian Curriculum are often optional, meaning many children miss systematic exposure.

Early childhood educators play a vital role—not just in literacy and numeracy, but in fostering the skills and confidence children need to become tomorrow’s innovators. By observing, documenting, and responding to problem-solving, experimentation, and creativity in play, educators can actively nurture engineering thinking from the earliest years.

The Takeaway

Children are already experimenting, building, and testing solutions in their everyday play. The real question is: are we ready to recognise them as engineers and provide the support and opportunities they need to thrive?

References

Australian Government Department of Education (AGDE). (2022). Belonging, being & becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia V2.0. Australian Government Department of Education for the Ministerial Council. Retrieved from https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf

Cohrssen, C., Guarrella, C., Hebden, K., Quinn, F., & Nirmalathas, A. (2025). Situating engineering in the Australian pre-tertiary education system. The Australian Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-025-00880-y

Consult Australia & Engineers Australia. (2024). Business guide: Enhancing access to global engineering skills. Retrieved from https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2025-03/business-guide-improving-access-global-engineering-skills.pdf

Engineers Australia. (2022). Women in engineering: Report. Retrieved from https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-07/women-in-engineering-report-june-2022.pdf

Engineers Australia. (2024). Engineering: Making life happen. Retrieved from https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/engineering-making-life-happen

Hatzigianni, M., Stevenson, M., Falloon, G., Bower, M., & Forbes, A. (2021). Young children’s design thinking in makerspaces. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 27, 100216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijc.2020.100216

McKinnie, S. (2021). Engineering in the Australian curriculum. Engineers Australia. Retrieved from https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2025-07/engineering-in-the-australian-curriculum.pdf