STEAMing Into Summer: Santa Fe Summer Collaborative Program

This past week I was involved helping with a Santa Fe Summer Collaborative Program  for students that included the Museum of International Folk Art, The Santa Fe Botanic Gardens, and the Center for Contemporary Arts. Each organization presented on different days and worked with the same students all week. Most of our students were between ages 7 and 13. All the content and activities were based on the theme of STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics, focusing on structure and form.

Here are some of the highlights:

Day I: Students examined real flowers and plants under microscopes to discover their structures.

They drew the plants and flowers from life.

Students then made paper from recycled materials and flower petals they had taken apart.

Day II: Students were introduced to folk art and made yarn paintings.

Day III: Students made rain sticks, wearing safety goggles and using hammers and nails.

Day IV: Today was a field trip day to the Museum of International Folk Art and the Santa Fe Botanical Gardens. At MOIFA, students viewed and discussed an exhibit on Tramp Art and made vessels to hold plants or seeds from found materials.

Day V: Students used special paints and papers to make practice tie dye papers, and then applied the same methods to small kites.

This summer program is 8 weeks long and the programming is different each week. It is a great experience for these kids.