Our After School STEAM Program is located on the Renaissance at Mathson Middle School Campus. Our program focuses on providing opportunities for youth to find their voice by using science, technology, engineering, art, and math to create connections, build creative confidence, and inspire them to be confident learners as they complete middle and move on to high school. We provide a safe, healthy environment where trust-based relationships that reflect productivity, accountability, and mutual respect are encouraged. Programming will be implemented year round at the site, and will be free and open to the local community.
After School STEAM Program
About
Our project-based workshops engage youth in exploring design thinking processes, digital tools, and visual arts. Students will work individually and collaboratively as they use technology in a very engaging, dynamic, and innovative way. Explorations are tied to developing skills while encouraging students to think outside the box and follow their ideas in directions that their passions and creativity guide them. All activities are aligned to Common Core Standards and designed to stimulate creativity while maintaining/improving academic, social, computer, and presentation skills, as well as fostering academic skills for future career success. While the projects all have academic components, the focus is on the process and exploration rather than the end result.
Teachers are invited to visit our workshops to observe, participate in activities, and for ideas to create their own project based activities for their classrooms. We can also provide instructions and guidance on the project we implement in the program. We will also provide professional development opportunities for teachers and staff. We want to expose a greater circle of the Silicon Valley education community to the innovation happening in East San José.
Program development is ongoing and we hope to add family oriented programming including Family Maker Days, Mother/Daughter STEAM Workshops, and other innovative activities. We also want to add Design Thinking Challenges for youth, including the NASA Future Engineers 3D Design Challenge and Robotics. We are looking into partnering with local non-profits like Somos Mayfair and the School of Arts and Culture to expand existing and develop new projects and activities.
