STEM to STEAM

What is STEAM?

In this climate of economic uncertainty, America is once again turning to innovation as the way to ensure a prosperous future. Yet innovation remains tightly coupled with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – the STEM subjects. Art + Design are poised to transform our economy in the 21st century just as science and technology did in the last century. We need to add Art + Design to the equation — to transform STEM into STEAM.

http://stemtosteam.org/

Measurement

Earth’s gravity pulls on all objects. Near the surface of the earth, the acceleration of all objects due to gravity is the same. Drop a penny and a pen from the same height and they will hit the ground at the same time. When objects travel down an inclined plane, gravity is pulling them downward, but the plane is exerting a force on the object, which makes it fall along the plane rather than straight down. Two marbles, regardless of size, will accelerate at the same rate. The two marbles should reach the bottom of the plane at the same time.

http://sciencenetlinks.com/afterschool-resources/falling-gravity/

MSED 340

Using Engineering Principles

The fields of science and engineering are mutually supportive. New technologies expand the reach of science, allowing the study of realms previously inaccessible to investigation; scientists depend on the work of engineers to produce the instruments and computational tools they need to conduct research. Engineers in turn depend on the work of scientists to understand how different technologies work so they can be improved; scientific discoveries are exploited to create new technologies in the first place. Scientists and engineers often work together in teams, especially in new fields, such as nanotechnology or synthetic biology that blur the lines between science and engineering. Students should come to understand these interactions and at increasing levels of sophistication as they mature. Their appreciation of the interface of science, engineering, and society should give them deeper insights into local, national, and global issues. (NGSS)

Understanding the Nature of Scientific Literacy
 SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
Fundamentally, the various scientific disciplines are alike in their reliance on evidence, the use of hypothesis and theories, the kinds of logic used, and much more. Nevertheless, scientists differ greatly from one another in their recourse to fundamental principles; and in how much they draw on the findings of other sciences.

There are, however, certain features of science that give it a distinctive character as a mode of inquiry. Although those features are especially characteristic of the work of professional scientists, everyone can exercise them in thinking scientifically about many matters of interest in everyday life.