116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
My Biz: Business encourages kids to be curious
Longtime educator opened The Curiosity Path in 2016
Heidi Haney knows that learning is important. In fact, she lives it out in her day-to-day work.
“I have used just about everything I learned in high school and college at some point in my teaching,” she said.
These days that teaching is through The Curiosity Path, which Haney owns and where she works as an outreach educator, providing hands-on learning opportunities for kids in Eastern Iowa.
The goal of her programming is to stimulate imaginations, explore ideas, test theories, make connections and create memories through the sciences, through the arts, and through nature, said Haney, 57.
Classes are available on a flexible schedule at various locations and on Zoom. Haney works with science fairs, art fairs, scouting groups, day cares, after-school classes, in-school classes, home-school events and events for other curious people.
For example, Haney currently offers a once-a-week afternoon class for home-schoolers on Tuesdays.
“We spend two sessions on a science/math/engineering topic and two sessions on a Makers/art session,” she said. “We do our best to be outdoors in the fall, exploring the pond at Waldo’s Rock Park, examining sculptures at Lowe Park, and then making wire sculptures of our own, and learning about trees at Morgan Creek Park’s Arboretum.”
“I am unique in that I strive to be open to exploring and going down an unexpected path,” she added. “If one topic really appeals to a group, we can spend 30 minutes instead of just 10. Of course, when I teach it the next time, the group barely wants to spend 5 minutes on that same portion, but then the next activity has them all eager to get right to it.”
Staying fresh
Haney said she has supply totes for many topics and plans nine STEM and nine Makers activities each year, trying to keep a three-year rotation of topics to “stay fresh.”
“Pumpkin carving is popular every fall,” she said.
This year, The Curiosity Path is in partnership with the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy as well. “I will be teaching after-school sessions at two schools and a series of six sessions for grades 3 to 5 on ways to make and swap Artist Trading Cards.”
She said friendly collaborations with others who work with kids are a big part of her business.
For example, through a partnership with NewBoCo, Haney provides events with an inflatable StarLab planetarium. The software offers many options to study space topics, including a popular visit to the moon.
Haney’s business venture was a natural progression from the time she spent teaching her own children and working with the local science center years ago.
“For five years, during the elementary-school era, we home-schooled,” she said. “We visited many museums and activity sites, including Science Station downtown. When our kids were in public school, I stayed connected with the leaders through Scout activities and donating materials.”
“Then in 2010, after Science Station had moved to Lindale Mall due to the flood, I was asked if I wanted to lead a once-a-month home-school class as a contact educator. Over time, three moves, and two name changes, I taught classes to more groups on many topics.”
Starting the business
When the Science Center/Iowa Innovation Learning Center closed in 2015, Haney still had students signed up for classes through May. Haney said her church, New Disciples of Cedar Rapids, offered classroom space for the remaining five sessions.
She opened The Curiosity Path in January 2016. Through the years, she has added Makers classes and continued with Scouting badge labs and StarLab events.
While Haney is a one-woman show with The Curiosity Path, she partners with Peter and Shelley Kamp of STEAM On to offer day camps and events during the summer.
Haney, who loves working with students, said the business side of the business keeps her on her toes.
“Bookkeeping, finding clients, insurance,” she said. “I have learned much through many roles over the years.” She noted that working with SCORE mentors and roundtables have been a tremendous help for navigating necessities.
“Seeing the ideas bubble up, watching a connection between this and that, is just the best,” she said of the best parts of her job. “I love to teach how to sew a small plushie with felt, but I am also teaching creativity and innovation, design options and their consequences.
“Where is the line between persevering on a project and knowing when stopping is the right next step?
“I can see confidence growing. I do my best to model clear communication, kind behaviors and using resources wisely. I see collaboration as we build marble slides, patience when waiting for Shrinky Dinks (to be ready), or enthusiasm about how to incorporate a favorite Pokémon into multiple projects.”
The Curiosity Path
Owner: Heidi Haney
Address: Cedar Rapids
Phone: (319) 651-4783
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/thecuriositypath/home
Know a business that should be considered for a “My Biz” feature? Let us know by emailing mary.sharp@thegazette.com.
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