Why The Arts in STEAM?

Have you seen our post on summer STEAM activities for kids? Which ones have you tried so far? 

While we’re talking about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math), you may wonder… Why the arts? 

The STEM acronym is built around these similar areas, science, technology, engineering, and math. So why throw in something as different and opposite as… Art? 

Short answer- why not? 

Long answer-

Naturally woven into arts are elements of science, technology, engineering, and math. The arts truly are more complicated than anyone gives them credit for! Just by simply participating in art concepts, the exposure to STEM concepts is already there. And the best way for kids to learn? Through play! You can hand out a worksheet on angles. Or you could work on some tape resist art using straight lines and evaluate and work with angles that way. 

Adding in arts also makes the activities naturally more collaborative and promotes teamwork and communication. It’s a simple way to practice being flexible and adaptable because art is naturally something more “go with the flow.” 

There’s also the concept of using both sides of your brain during STEAM activities. Putting arts and STEM together activates the right and left sides of the brain at the same time making the activity more educational and well-rounded. 

Do you practice STEAM concepts in your school? How do you add arts to STEM? 

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