Jenni Vartiainen

Biography

PhD. Jenni Vartiainen is a researcher and a university lecturer at the University of Tampere. Her research interests are young children’s playful STEAM education and scientific literacy. In her research, Jenni has developed a play-based science education model for young children. The model combines play, stories, imagination, and early STEAM education. She has published several scientific articles and also worked in the field of the popularization of science. Jenni has written fictional science books for children, pedagogical guides for teachers and she has co-authored the manuscript for children’s science TV-show and acted in it. She is a founder of a company named Kide Science (www.kidescience.com/en) which promotes play-based early childhood STEAM education all over the world by offering teachers and educators on-line training and play-based STEAM lesson plans. Kide Science pedagogy is based on Jenni’s research, and it is now implemented in 22 countries.