The Purpose of STEAM
The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) is promoting awareness and importance of Artistic thinking and experience into the STEM fields. For years the push has been in STEM education to create and prepare students for highly-skilled and technical professions. However, the lack of any artistic input has led to inflexibility and narrow views in pure STEM innovation. Art provides the unorthodox thinking and perspective shifting acumen that leads to innovation, new ideas, fresh thinking, and exponential growth in STEM. And the STEM perspective has the potential in inspire new artistic media and innovators [1]. Albert Einstein himself learned how to play the violin and regularly delved into music while thinking about the laws of physics. As he stated:
“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” -Albert Einstein[2]
The STEAM Initiative envisions the next generation of renaissance men and women that employ fresh, artistic thinking to innovate and revolutionize how STEM and Art can impact our lives. It is through the melding if these fields that we truly innovate and inspire others of the limitless possibilities. This initiative is providing students, faculty, and organizations on campus, of diverse academic backgrounds, an avenue of collaboration to benefit education and student life at Stony Brook University. It is the hope that, with students and faculty exchanging ideas and opportunities across disciplines, we can continue to make the Stony Brook community the center of innovation and ingenuity for the 21st century.
The STEAM Committee, a group of students and faculty that regularly meet and discuss implementing STEAM projects on campus, is making this revolution happen:
[button link=”https://you.stonybrook.edu/steamsbu/steam-committee/” color=”silver”] STEAM Committee[/button]
[learn_more caption=”References”] [1]http://stemtosteam.org/ [2]http://www.openculture.com/2013/06/the_musical_mind_of_albert_einstein.html [3]http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2014/02/13/gaining-steam-teaching-science-though-art[/learn_more]