While learning computer programming,
a child expresses her creativity as a game with characters and landscapes as
unique as she is. There are polka dots on her buildings and flowers on the
street where her equally appealing character goes on a mission to drive villains out of her imagined and created digital world.
While learning about simple machines
and engineering of moving things, a child makes a design for his model car and
expresses his creativity through drawing. Sharp arrows pointing forward and painted
in black on the sides of his car clearly depicting his desire for speed and
full speed ahead.
While learning about website
designing, a young lady puts imagination of her future store into digital web
pages. An artist in making or perhaps an entrepreneur?
While learning about rocket
propulsion, future engineers devise their itineraries through the Solar System
and the Universe. Many have stops planned for Europa to discover water, some
will go as far out as our closest Blackhole to feel its pull, some will circle
around the Solar System, some plan to venture to the Asteroid Belt. Moreover,
their exquisite designs and expressions of their rockets are as unique as their
itineraries.
A group of children make robotic
animals leading up to their own petting zoo!
Wondering about structural stability
and strength, a group of children decide to enact and tell their Civil
Engineering story of the "three little pigs".
Thinking through mathematical
sequences, a classroom of students makes paper snails. These snails are made to
artistic perfection with good proportion of coloring while utilizing a
mathematical principle used in architecture.
In their quest to design catapults
that shoot the farthest, a group of young engineers-in-training research the
history of catapults, learning about the various designs tried in the olden
ages.
These are just a few examples of delivering on our promise
of hands-on engagement with our STEM
programs. STEM means Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. As I had
discussed in one of my early posts (First things first... back to basics),
for the colors of STEM to really shine, we need a foundation (like a canvas
or paper). That foundation is the core skills. What core skills do we emphasize
and seamlessly integrate with our programs? These are the 4Cs - Communication,
Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity – foundational pillars for
success in this century.
Proponents for a balance of art with sciences have coined
the term STEAM. STEAM is Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.
Think back to the example activities at the top of this
post. What do you think - do they represent Science, Engineering, Technology,
Math, Arts, History, Language, Role Play or a healthy serving combining them all in
varying proportions?
So, whether you want STEM or STEAM for your kids or may be
STEAMH (H for history) or any other combination, know that STEM For Kids is
STEM with the foundation of 4Cs stretching your child's imagination and
learning through the use of artistic, linguistic, technical and other forms of
expression.
