KiDLAB runs Lil’ Scientist, a citizen science project that engages children as real scientists. Children are natural scientists: they are born curious, form theories about how the world works, gather data, weigh evidence, and revise their ideas accordingly. Yet many children feel that science is “not for them”—especially girls, children with non-Western migration backgrounds, and children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Lil’ Scientist aims to change this by giving children an active role in real research. We currently reach more than 3,300 children from disadvantaged backgrounds across 63 locations throughout the Netherlands. We have developed six lesson plans, which are freely available to all primary schools in the Netherlands.
This work received support from The Dutch Research Council’s National Science Agenda (NWA), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and The Young Academy (DJA).
Brummelman, E., & Hoebe, M. (Eds.) (2025). Lil’Scientist: Lespakketten om kinderen spelenderwijs echte wetenschap te laten doen [Lil’Scientist: Lesson plans that help children discover science through play]. KiDLAB, Universiteit van Amsterdam. [LINK] [freely available lesson plans for children age 8-13: Who’s the scientist?, Thinking about thinking, Markets, New technology, Plastic soup, WordWresting]
Brummelman, E. (2022, July). Meer diversiteit? Laat kinderen wetenschap doen [More diversity? Engage children as scientists]. NRC.
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Brüninghaus, J., van Hest, E., Leijten, P., Orobio de Castro, B, Overbeek, G., & Brummelman, E. (2022). Wie is de wetenschapper? Een lespakket om kinderen spelenderwijs kennis te laten maken met wetenschap [Who’s the scientist? Educational material to engage children in playful ways with science]. Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam. doi:10.17605/OSF.IO/8WBCV
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