HelloPumpkins KidsinSTEM WorkshoP

Changemaker: Jenny Daniel

Country of implementation: Nigeria

In many low-income communities across Nigeria, young children have limited access to hands-on, creative learning experiences. Education is often focused on memorization, with few opportunities to explore science, sustainability, or design thinking in engaging, tangible ways. To change this, Jenny launched HelloPumpkins with a small team of educators and makers, a playful learning initiative that introduces low-tech, sustainable, project-based activities to classrooms, communities, and homes.

In May 2024, the team began co-developing a hands-on curriculum focused on STEAM and sustainability. By October 2024, they secured a space that became a community innovation lab, where children began experimenting with recyclable materials and learning basic robotics through play. Activities ranged from building tile-based structures and colour spinners to using coding platforms like Scratch and tools like KiwiCo kits. Children explored books about robots and participated in DIY projects that turned them into creators. The lab also began supporting digital learning, and in 2025, the team expanded their reach by launching AI-generated project prompts and downloadable activity sheets for parents, educators, and facilitators via their website and social platforms.

In September 2025, HelloPumpkins will begin a series of mobile learning workshops across schools in underserved parts of Abuja, starting with Unique Primary School in Byahzin, Kubwa, Abuja. These workshops will feature eco-friendly, project-based kits, allowing children aged 5–12 to build simple wind turbines, colour theory spinners, and other tools using familiar, low-cost materials like cartons, straws, and paper.

With both in-person labs and online toolkits, Hello Pumpkins is sparking curiosity, building confidence, and helping children see the world around them as full of possibility, no matter where they come from.