Happy National #STEMSTEAMDay!
Today is national STEM/STEAM day — a day to celebrate and focus on ways to inspire the next generation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
WHAT IS STEM?
STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
In our world of continual technological development, STEM skills are becoming more and more important. In addition to the study of these fields, STEM inspires the development of 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, questioning, problem solving and collaboration.
STEM VS. STEAM
The benefits of including arts education in these areas has been proposed and discussed among educators in recent years. Incorporating the arts (A) alongside the study of STEM can help cultivate deeper interest, engagement, and understanding in these fields. Adding the arts creates STEAM!
VIDEO: A peek inside Backhausdance’s “Physical Science Moves” assembly. Students are exposed to modern dance and experience how moving our bodies can enhance our understanding of physical science concepts.
BD’S COMMITMENT TO STEAM
After two Backhausdance members were invited to participate in a research study teaching science through dance and visual arts, the company began creating STEAM based assemblies, workshops, and residencies to offer in schools.
Movement coincides naturally with physical science concepts. Dance can provide kinesthetic access to examine and experience ideas such as force, energy, and the properties of matter in different states.
During Backhausdance’s “Physical Science Moves” assembly, students are asked to think critically before the dancers demonstrate specific science concepts through modern dance. Based on the company’s piece, The Elasticity of the Almost, this interactive experience calls on students to participate in movement activities that relate to the ideas presented throughout the program.
In workshops and residencies, students have the opportunity to explore, experiment and create movement that demonstrates physical science concepts. Problem solving and collaborating with their peers, students develop their ideas for a culmination performance.
YOUR TURN …JOIN US IN ADDING THE “A” IN STEAM!
You can explore some physical science ideas through dance and movement, too!
Think about the different states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
What comes to mind when you think of the word solid? Sturdy? Dense? How can you move your body or create shapes with your body that represent matter at its solid state?
What about matter as a liquid? Maybe the words flowing and smooth come to mind. Try moving you body in flowing and smooth manner. Imagine water in an ocean or lake …how does that water move? Now explore that type of movement with your body.
Next try these ideas with matter as a gas.
There is no right or wrong way to interpret these ideas and make them into your own movement. That is just one of the many wonderful things about art!
STAY IN THE LOOP!
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