• High school culinary students (working alongside student visitors) will prepare food for the students that visit daily

• High school and middle school culinary competitions (see video)

• Food growing (hydroponics -- Flex Farms) for community donations and greens for the Center's meals

• Serving meals for community sponsored events

Benefits of small group collaborative teams:

• It encourages problem-solving.

• It allows students to learn from each other.

• Student productivity rates go up.

• Overall problem-solving becomes easier.

• Team collaboration increases the potential for change.

• Collaborate teams are more efficient.

The Education Commons provides the space and resources for staff to practice critical thinking, collaboration and design thinking skills as a team, which then can be transferred to the activities offered by the Center.

The fab lab is a space for students to unleash their creativity by making their ideas become a reality. The fab lab will feature state of the art equipment that mirrors equipment found within industry.

The fossil wall provides students a glimpse into the past. This feature of the Center will allow students to explore Earth's history in a hands-on and engaging way.

The Innovation Labs are flexible spaces that can be used to run investigations, prototype ideas, and hold Socratic seminars. These spaces would have traditionally been called a "classroom," but at the STEAM Innovation Center, these areas will allow students to do so much more than traditional "sit and get" lectures.

The four foot OmniGlobe will be one of the first things that visitors see as the enter the Center. The OmniGlobe will allow students to view real time global data and explore how humans are impacting our planet.

The Outdoor Environmental Area promotes a healthy lifestyle, instills respect for nature, and teaches children about environmental challenges.

• It strengthens muscles while being low impact

• It improves flexibility

• It challenges cardiovascular systems

• It combats chronic disease

• It can help improve coordination

• It fosters collaboration and teamwork

A Ropes Course meets a number of educational, developmental, and recreational goals. High ropes course and climbing programs generally focus on personal achievements and ask participants to confront their personal fears and anxieties. Challenges may be physical and/or emotional. Teamwork, Collaboration, Problem Solving and Risk Taking are important skills that students can gain during a ropes course challenge.

The sandpit is an area where students will be able to utilize their inquiry skills to unearth old cultures and try to paint a picture of how an ancient civilization lived thousands of years ago. The sand pit will also serve as a place for students to create artistic sculptures out of the sand.

The Special Events Room will allow the Center the flexibility to initiate long term activities that involve a significant amount of set-up time. A few examples that may be setup in the room would include:

• Indoor Rock Climbing Wall

• Jurassic Park Robotics

• Mission Impossible

• Drone Course

• Space Station Simulation

The "Hub" will be the heart of the Center. The Hub will provide the Center the ability to host large group presentations, robotics competitions, and E-sports events.

The Production Room will allow students to:

• Develop commercials and podcasts

• Record video yearbooks

• Film feature-length movies

• Produce music albums

• Broadcast school and community news

• Edit footage with professional-grade software

Students learn better through experience...

• VR has the ability to inspire.

• VR sparks the imagination and encourages creative thinking.

• VR in education promotes peer interaction.

• VR engages students.

• VR provides realistic travel experiences.

• VR in the classroom is inclusive.

The zipline at the STEAM Innovation Center will allow students to develop communication skills, team building techniques, the recognition that failure is a part of success, and leadership development all in a safe environment,. These are important skills for students to acquire before they enter the workforce.