A Space Chef, “LEGO Masters” and LEGO Fellows

The value and benefits of a career in a STEM field are well-known and well understood. Adding the “A” to STEM to create STEAM opens new doors for inclusivity, creativity and innovation in fields that are not conventially considered to be STEM careers.

What if we stopped asking kids “Are you good at math?” and instead asked “What are your interests and what are the problems that you would love to solve?”…

One of my favorite things to do when I speak to young people, especially young girls, about STEAM and STEM is to ask them what they do for fun and then to tell them about a STEAM job or career that centers around their answer. I have yet to be stumped!

Space Chef

The young lady in this story did not need me to do that for her. She came up with the idea to be a space chef all on her own!

“LEGO Masters”

One of my favorite television shows is “LEGO Masters”. I accidentally stumbled onto it during the pandemic when I was channel surfing and was instantly hooked. The show Is practically the definition of STEAM. The teams are judged not only on their LEGO build but on the story that they and the build itself tell to meet the challenge that they are given each week. This show is the perfect integration of left-brain and right-brain functionality and showcases what can be accomplished when arts are added to science, technology, engineering and math. I strongly recommend this show if you want to see STEAM in action.

And speaking of LEGO…

LEGO Fellows

In 2017, the LEGO Foundation endowed the LEGO Papert Fellowships to honor Seymour Papert, a founder of the MIT Media Lab who had recently passed away. Each year, three graduate students receive the fellowships based upon their work at the intersection of creativity, play, learning and new technologies. The 2023 Fellows are nothing less than inspirational , working on research and projects as diverse as Lifelong Kindergarten, Opera of the Future, and Fluid Interfaces.

The future of STEAM looks very bright if the young people in this newsletter today are any indication.

I am very excited about the valuable information and intriguing stories I will be bringing you in future newsletters. Want to make sure that you never miss a STEAM Rising? Subscribe below.

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you here next Friday!