STEAM: Math, Science–and Magic

Over Coffee® is on hiatus through the Christmas holidays. We’ll be rebroadcasting some of our most popular episodes of 2017. Thank you for listening–and be sure to be with us for our coverage of CES 2018!

Who knew that science, math and art are inseparable?

Artist/Instructables designer Audrey Lee Love and electrical engineer/educational advocate/author Sylvia Libow Martinez use that concept every day.

And that statement is at the core of the book Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering and Engineering in the Classroom, of which Sylvia is the co-author.  (And it is a gold mine for any maker, not just teachers--as is Audrey's Instructables page!)

In July of 2017, we had the honor of hosting a live discussion panel with them at Pipe & Thimble Publishing and Bookstore, in the city of Lomita.   The subject was "The Intersection of Art and Science".

STEAM--science, technology, engineering, art and math--provides an exciting way to incorporate STEM skills into art projects.  And both Audrey and Sylvia offered a close look at the ways STEAM education can get kids excited about, rather than threatened by, math and science concepts.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you’ll hear:

How Audrey and Sylvia first became interested in their respective fields;

What schools can do differently, to effectively present subjects like math and science to arts-oriented students;

How Audrey’s work with Burning Man led to her work with Instructables.com;

Sylvia’s perspective on  the “fun” element in science;

How Sylvia and Gary came to write their book;

Sylvia’s advice to parents, on getting schools to teach STEM principles by teaching maker skills in the classroom;

How teachers can implement the use of project-based learning in the classroom;

Ideas to interest arts-oriented students in science or math;

A simple, everyday kids’ activity, that will teach math;

How a makers’ stance, throughout school, can reach students, based on their own individual interests and experiences;

How we can get more girls interested in STEM subjects;

Some LED wearable project ideas that could intrigue young girls;

A look at some “very simples”, safe and conductive technologies, for creating light-up art;

How maker skills can validate, rather than discourage, students;

Some of the trends Audrey and Sylvia are seeing with the maker movement in relation to education;

Resources for parents and teachers, for teaching maker skills;

Future skills schools need to teach students, to become effective members of a future workforce;

How to overcome perfectionism when teaching project-based learning;

How to use skills from the maker movement to get ready for Halloween;

Where you can see the current projects in which Audrey and Sylvia are involved;
AND all the excellent questions our audience asked!