Welcome to the Art Category! This is where we celebrate how creativity, design, and technology come together. The "A" in STEAM stands for Art, and it's all about using your imagination to solve problems and express new ideas.

What to Focus On

This category is for projects that connect art with science, technology, engineering, or math. We're looking for projects that show a clear connection between your creative idea and a STEAM principle.

Your project should be more than just a piece of art; it should have a story about how you used a STEAM concept to create it. It could be something you built, something you designed on a computer, or even a piece of art that uses data to tell a story.

Project Examples

To help you get some ideas, here are a few examples of projects that fit well in this category:

• Digital Art: An animated story you created using coding or a computer program.

• Data Visualization: A drawing or sculpture that shows data, like how many people in your school have a birthday in each month.

• Interactive Installations: A sculpture that lights up when you touch it, showing how an electrical circuit works.

• 3D-Printed Sculptures: A sculpture you designed on a computer and then printed using a 3D printer.

• Music and Sound: A musical instrument you built that uses sound waves to create different notes.

What to Include in Your Project

1. The Project Itself: This is your creation! It can be a physical object, a digital file on a screen, or an interactive display.

2. A Project Display: This is a poster board or digital presentation that explains your project. You should include:

• Your Name and Grade: Tell us who you are.

• Project Title: Give your project a fun, creative name.

• The Big Idea: What is your project? What is its main purpose?

• The STEAM Connection: Explain how you used science, technology, engineering, or math to create your project. What was the problem you were trying to solve, or what was the idea you were trying to express?

• Your Process: Tell us about how you made your project. What steps did you take? What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

Tips for Success

• Start with an idea you love. Your passion will make the project more fun and more impressive.

• Don't be afraid to try new things. This is a great time to learn a new skill, like 3D design or basic coding.

• Document your process. Take pictures or write notes as you go. This will make it easier to explain your project later.

• Ask for help! Talk to your teachers, parents, or an older sibling if you get stuck on a problem. That's part of the process!

Resources

The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM - Hundreds of arts integration and STEAM lesson ideas to jumpstart your creativity

Exploratorium Tinker Studio - The Tinkering Studio is primarily an R&D laboratory on the floor of the Exploratorium, but whenever possible we try to share our projects, activities, and developing ideas following an “open source” model. Learn how you too can enjoy our activities in your kitchen, garage, classroom, and community.

Exploratorium Science Art Snacks - Activities from the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco that focus on the A in STEAM.

Arts and Maths Projects - On this page you will find a selection of fully-resourced lessons with a 'mathematical art' theme.  The activities in these lessons will help to reinforce many important mathematical skills such as accurate measuring and constructing, visual problem solving and strategic forward planning. 

YouCubed Maths and Art

YouCubed Artistic Data Representation Lesson

6 Inspiring Examples of Data Driven Art

Information is Beautiful - an independent collective making sense of the world with infographics & data-visuals. They turn data, information and knowledge into interactive graphics, stories, live performances and books.

Graph Art - illustrating data

Nature Inspired Art Projects

Fractivities - Fractivities are hands-on projects that teach fractal concepts in a fun, artistic way. Students utilize their math skills in real-world applications and also work together as a team to create large fractal designs. From the Fractal Foundation.

Examples