SciTech kids electronic arts: Using STEAM to engage children all ages and gender

Abstract

SciTech Kids presents a case study of our workshops that integrate art into our STEM curriculum and introduce young children to the basics of electronics and technology. SciTech Kids Electronic Art (SKEA) is a crafts-based, hands-on approach that allows participants to tinker and produce interactive electronic objects. The SKEA workshops provide a new way of thinking and drawing connections about STEM topics by emphasizing the synergy between engineering, technology and art. The SKEA approach holds great promise since it helps a greater number of young learners, including girls, experience STEAM as an engaging process of inquiry and creates rich experiences for them to become active makers, designers and innovators.