Las Vegas, N.M. – A business professor at Highlands University published a book designed to get children interested in the world around them through hands-on learning.
Rod Sanchez’ new book, Ben and IQ Explore Hot Air Ballooning, will make its debut at the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum Oct. 7.
“My character Ben is based upon my 5-year-old son’s curiosity for the world,” Sanchez said. “IQ is a robot who is Ben’s sidekick. Together, they attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and learn the science behind hot air ballooning.”
Sanchez’s new book is a collaboration with the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum. His first book, Ben and IQ Explore Gardening, is a collaboration with the Center for Hands-On Learning based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
“This gardening book is part of the curriculum the Center for Hands-On Learning developed to get children interested in planting their own garden. It’s used nationwide in pre-schools and elementary schools,” Sanchez said.
His next book in the series, Ben and IQ Explore the Hospital, will be published in 2018.
Sanchez, who earned his Ph.D. in management from the Indiana University Walden Institute, teaches at the Highlands University Rio Rancho Center. The subjects include courses such as Entrepreneurial Forum, Quantitative Methods, and Principals of Business.
“In every course I teach at Highlands, I share with my students that we live in an entrepreneurial world. This is important because students with creative ideas can use the skills they are developing at the university to bring those ideas to reality,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez, who has worked in film industry animation for much of his career, directs the New Mexico Innovation Laboratory at Highlands’ Rio Rancho Center.
“Our goal at the Innovation Lab is to give students the technical tools they need to develop their entrepreneurial ideas,” Sanchez said.