Full STEAM Ahead!

Join the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership for our FREE spring conference, “Full STEAM Ahead!” MAP will be joined by presenters from across Massachusetts to share best practices in afterschool and summer science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) education, including presentations on basic STEAM, incorporating arts into STEM, and working in the environment. We look forward to seeing you there!

All conference attendees will be eligible for free membership for the National Afterschool Association! The National Afterschool Association is the professional membership association for people who work with and for youth during Out-of-School time. NAA fosters positive youth outcomes by supporting, developing, and advocating for afterschool professionals and leaders. NAA is the leading network of OST professionals, and offers access to many free OST resources & curriculum.

Check out below for the conference agenda and session descriptions.

Full STEAM Ahead! OST Conference

April 25th, 2024 | 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Devens Commons Center, 31 Andrews Pkwy, Devens, MA 01434

Agenda

9 – 9:30 a.m. Registration and breakfast
9:30 – 10 a.m. General Session

10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. First Session (1.5 hours)

11:45 – 12:30 p.m. Lunch and Networking

12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. Second Session (1.5 hours)

2 – 2:30 p.m. Networking

Morning sessions (10:15 – 11:45 a.m.)

NIOST: Incorporating Literacy Skill-Building into Your STEAM Activities. This session will help you to implement literacy skill-building in your STEAM activities to support teachers in classrooms, children, and families. Research overwhelmingly reveals that the elementary school years are critical for developing foundational literacy skills and STEAM activities are a perfect match to take on this task. We are sharing evidence and experiences from three years of work with program partners to help get you there. You'll take in tips, advice, plans, and activity guidance to move the needle on literacy skill-building as part of your STEAM content. Presenter: Georgia Hall.

Family Engagement Project/STEM Next Opportunity Fund. Family Engagement: The Secret Sauce to Removing Barriers in STEM. How do we make sure that every caregiver feels confident and has the resources to support their child in STEM? How do we reimagine family engagement as more than a one-time, end-of-program event? In this webinar, you will learn best practices for impactful family engagement using the CARE framework highlighted in the STEM Family Engagement: A Planning Tool along with other resources to help incorporate sustainable family engagement into your programs. Presenter: Bunmi Esho.

MAP. Introduction to STEAM. This training session is an introduction to STEAM that will first define science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics by looking at these subject areas in an afterschool program. The focus will be on embedding fun, hands-on STEAM lessons that engage youth. A free curriculum-planning tool to promote the learning and teaching of STEAM will be given. Time to explore this tool and plan STEAM activities that can you bring back to your program will be provided. Presenter: Lisa Demoulias.

Boston Museum of Science. Developing Engineering Mindset in Youth: Rescue Shuttles. Help! Someone needs a water rescue. Can you engineer a rescue shuttle to reach them? After investigating how shuttle variables affect flight distance, you’ll imagine, plan, create, and test a solution. As you do, you’ll reflect on the engineering practices you are using and how to support these practices and engineering mindset with youth. Finally, you’ll learn about a suite of free engineering resources designed for afterschool programs. Presenter: Carrie Baldwin.

Flying Cloud Institute: Young Women in Science. Where Science Meets Art: Ready-to-Go Projects. For 40 years Flying Cloud Institute has inspired young people and teachers through dynamic experiences with science and art. Now we have a library full of favorite hands-on activities that are guaranteed to ignite creativity and engage students--- and we want to share them with you! Designed by STEM professionals, these activities are proven winners, inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers and can be implemented in your program tomorrow. Executive Director Maria Rundle and Program Director Angel Heffernan are excited to share a series of science investigations and engineering challenges that you can pack up and take with you to make your own chemistry lab, art studio, or MakerSpace wherever you go. Captivate and engage your students while working alongside them with curiosity and creativity! Presenters: Maria Rundle and Angel Heffernan.

Afternoon sessions (12:30 – 2 p.m.)

New England Wildlife Center. Wild Education - Bringing the outdoors into the classroom! Care to bring the outdoors into the classroom? Where do the wonders of nature seamlessly blend with traditional learning? Through interactive activities and immersive experiences, learn how to engage students of all ages in exploring the natural world. Join us to unlock the transformative power of wild education and inspire students' lifelong connection to our environment! Presenter: Jack Banagis.

MAP. Math is Everywhere. Do you sometimes feel ill equipped to foster development of math in your program? You are not alone. This workshop will give you confidence that you are already doing math in your OST program. Come learn how to reframe activities to highlight math concepts and strategies for creating a math rich environment for the children in your program. Math can be fun for all! Presenter: Suzanne Wildman.

VentureLab and YEI. 13 Activities to bring STEAM to life through Entrepreneurial Learning. Come workshop with VentureLab and YEI and leave with 13 activities you can take and use to elevate your existing STEAM program through entrepreneurial learning. Entrepreneurship is more than starting a business, it’s a way of thinking and doing that brings learning to life for all students. Entrepreneurial mindsets and skills allow youth to grow into passionate innovators and courageous change-makers in their communities while gaining awareness of STEAM careers and developing in-demand employability skills. Presenters: Scott Man , Jessie Jones and Lindly Fernandez.

Boys and Girls Club of Stoneham & Wakefield. 3D Printing in STEAM. This presentation will focus on how to create K-4 programming that exposes students to 3D printing techniques and technology. Presenter: John Dearing.

MAP. Introduction to STEAM. This training session is an introduction to STEAM that will first define science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics by looking at these subject areas in an afterschool program. The focus will be on embedding fun, hands-on STEAM lessons that engage youth. A free curriculum-planning tool to promote the learning and teaching of STEAM will be given. Time to explore this tool and plan STEAM activities that can you bring back to your program will be provided. Presenter: Jennifer Reth.