Barnard program encourages STEAM educators to stop and smell the (corpse) flowers

A Barnard educator shows teachers science-related contraption

For the second summer in a row, teachers in Upper Manhattan gathered at Barnard College to explore how New York City itself can serve as a classroom and spark students’ interest in STEAM.

Participants in the weeklong STEAM in the City Powered by Barnard and SNF program got up close and personal with bees, learned hands-on activities that can help kids get excited about learning from the natural environment even in the city, and had the opportunity to see the very rare blooming of a giant “corpse flower” in a Barnard greenhouse.

STEAM in the City, supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) connects pre-K through 8th grade teachers with scholars at Barnard who share best practices in teaching science, technology, engineering, arts, and math to help educators confidently deliver engaging lessons in those areas. The ultimate goal is to help infuse entire school communities with enthusiasm around STEAM subjects, encouraging students’ interest as they choose what to study and eventually what careers to pursue.

SNF has supported a variety other educational projects to help get kids excited about STEAM subjects, from the programs offered at the V.Lab in the Greek village of Vamvakou, to a STEAM Innovation Challenge on the DonorsChoose platform to help equip teachers with the resources they need to fully engage students, to F1 in Schools teams engineering miniature racecars.