Since 2017, LuxKids Lab ASBL intends to create a community of curious minds, to help children explore STEM (acronym for the fields science, technology, engineering and mathematics). But, most importantly, explore it in a fun way! We have met with Elfi Dontis, one of the two co-founders, who told us more about this laboratory dedicated to children, knowledge and science.
(Featured Image: Svetlana Lecheva and Elfi Dontis, co-founders of LuxKids Lab / Image Credit © LuxKids Lab)
The inspiring story of LuxKids Lab, from mums to mumpreneurs
It all started in a living room. “I was at home with Svetlana Lecheva, the co-founder, when we realized that our girls were not really playing with the toys we had, they were quickly losing interests, especially when it was related to science. We started discussing about it and it was clear for us that our general environment creates the idea that children, and especially girls, are not smart enough for science,” explained Elfi.
The two mums then searched for activities related to STEM (for science, technology, engineering and math) in Luxembourg and realized there were none. “This lack of activities stroked us and we decided to create our owns. We looked for an incubator that would support our idea, in order to get guidance. That’s when we contacted nyuko, through their online form,” said Elfi. Luckily for them, nyuko got interested and a first meeting was scheduled. “After that first meeting, the magic started!”
“We definitely had the chance to be guided by nyuko through the whole process. nyuko also gave us a real support in terms of networking. As new entrepreneurs, we learnt a lot from various discussions we had with other entrepreneurs.”
nyuko encouraged those two mumpreneurs to be, to develop their ideas in a more concrete way. “We had the idea to create our science laboratory in wagons of unused trains. This idea needed to be brought to the government’s attention, to make it real. Once again, we had the chance to receive a positive go from the government.”
Thanks to nyuko’s guidance, the two co-founders then participated to the “1,2,3 go social” competition program (now called “Impuls”) dedicated to projects with a strong social impact. “We had to prepare a pitch to convince the jurors about our STEM lab project. We went on stage with two balloons, explaining simply to the audience that we, as adults, all know why balloon can go up, but children often don’t and we need to change that. Thanks to this simple example, we were selected to be part of the Acceleration Program,” proudly remembered Elfi.
In June 2017, at the end of the acceleration program, the co-founders won the final pitch and received a prize to finance their project. Thanks to this monetary price, the LuxKids Lab ASBL was ready to develop further its activities!
“We definitely had the chance to be guided by nyuko through the whole process. nyuko also gave us a real support in terms of networking. As new entrepreneurs, we learnt a lot from various discussions we had with other entrepreneurs.”
Workshops, shows, educational visits around science
Since September 2016 and the launch of the adventure, lots of various workshops have been proposed. “Our workshops are dedicated to children between the age of 4 and 12. We saw a lot of interests from the children since the beginning. They are really focused and more importantly, have fun trying and touching things. For our first workshop, we worked on the chemical reaction around volcanos. It was a real success,” said the co-founder.
“We are looking to grow in the near future as we have other projects in minds. We are currently working to expand our activities to the whole family.”
The startup proposed science workshops, science shows for bigger audience such as school, and also educational visits related to science and technology. “Those visits are really important for us, as we intend to show children real life jobs related to STEM, to show them the skills they would need in their future career. For example, we went to visit a startup that has developed robots for autism children, and the kids just loved it! All kids are curious and thirsty for knowledge!”
LuxKids Lab workshops are developed around games, play and experimentation and performed by animators having science backgrounds. “We hire only people with science knowledge, and as importantly, people that loves children and are eager to teach them their expertise in a fun and playful way” emphasized the co-founder. The startup is composed of a team of 6 persons, being scientist, biologist, computer experts. The workshops are delivered in French and English languages, for the time being. “We are looking to grow in the near future as we have other projects in minds. We are currently working to expand our activities to the whole family. We have already identified potentials science centers in Germany and Belgium, and we intend to offer science trips there, proposing transportation, visit, workshops for the whole family. We would love to create a new type of family travel, in all Europe!”
Go check LuxKids Lab‘s Facebook page for more details on their workshops!
