STEAM is an acronym for Science - Technology - Engineering - Art - Mathematics. STEAM is not a separate subject, but an application of the processes and skills learned in these subject areas. Through lessons that integrate two or more of these subject areas, students in STEAM class are involved in hands-on, enriching activities that solidify the 4 Cs of learning in the 21st Century - Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Communication.

STEAM education is designed to prepare students for 21st Century careers. These days, every job – even those you least expect – require some amount of skill in science, technology, engineering and math. Students need opportunities to practice skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking in a fun, safe, and non-threatening environment - where mistakes are OK to make - even encouraged. They need to learn tenacity - using new data to make new decisions to find new pathways to find new ways to achieve a goal when the old ways didn't work. One of my favorite parts of the STEAM lab is helping students learn that mistakes are not the end... just the beginning of the learning process.