Empowering Early Leaners: STEAM for All

K-12 STEAM education

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

The San Fernando Valley has long faced systemic challenges related to educational resource access, making it a historically underserved community within the Greater Los Angeles region. We see that the Valley is home to almost 2 million people and many of them consist of low-income households of color, who have been underfunded in their schools. Of note, a majority of LAUSD schools are designated as Title-I. When compared to more affluent areas the funding gap that is experienced in the San Fernando Valley translates into fewer resources, outdated facilities and insufficient staffing. Additionally, we must consider the experience of early-age children before they get into the school system so that they have the best possible foundation to begin learning. In conversation with local elected and school leaders, we have come to find that STEAM-focused education has been on the decline, especially when looking at resources for children in the Valley.

The STEAM for All program is geared towards providing high-quality learning opportunities for both parents and caregivers, along with their early learner. Through this year-long program, we offer workshop-style classes that equip adults with coteaching strategies and tools while children learn about various STEAM topics through developmentally appropriate activities. This program will run in two six-month segments that consist of two sets of 12 workshops that occur every other week with a short pause to restart the program for the second half of the year.
Every workshop follows a specific theme, featuring a book and read-aloud, hands-on activities, a take-home activity, as well as exploration time in the museum. With our trained education staff, we will provide a group setting where families can access vital learning time for their children and opportunities for children and adults to build community.
The program was brought to life with local parent leaders who sought out the Cube for support with developing programming suitable for early-age learners and their caregivers. In keeping to this, we will continue to gather insights from participating adults on how to continue meeting this community's need for educational programming. The Cube aims to continue this program for low-income families in the Valley who do not have the space or resources to learn, play, and interact with one another, especially when we consider access to family learning activities within the community.

The coteaching elements of the STEAM for All program equips all participating adults with strategies to introduce concepts to their children, fostering early learning before formal schooling even begins. In the Valley, where low-income communities of color often face resource constraints, we can make a much-needed investment to bridge the educational gaps and counter historical marginalization. This initiative can transform the County by creating a more inclusively educated community that nurtures future scientists and innovators of color. Success is a long-term vision for us given the nature of our program; however, we aim to see improved academic performance, higher self-esteem, and a diversified STEAM workforce that promotes equity and socioeconomic growth across the region. As we expand the museum, we will be able to serve more families over time and bring our program out to community hubs for more access.

This past year we piloted the program, and we measured success through the direct feedback of our participants and the parent leaders who supported the ideation of this program. Through these conversations and surveys, we have been able to understand the specific topics that interested the parents and caregivers the most in engaging their children on. Similarly, this iteration of the program will use surveys to gather insights from participating community members to adjust the content and delivery.
Additionally, part of our success will be gauged through their engagement at home through our take-home activities. We aim to keep our program free for participants; however, we will be adding in an incentive element, featuring a one-year museum membership to the Cube, for families who consistently attend our workshops and debrief with our team about their take-home activity experience, whether through conversation or a brief activity sheet. Learning will continue over time too.

Lake View Terrace Public Library is a longstanding partner of ours and have graciously offered to allow usage of their space and to support with marketing the program out to the local community. Through their various library programs, they will spread word about the STEAM for All program so that their families can attend as well and to also benefit from access to the science center. As a result, this could serve as a multiplier for our program and bring more recognition to both the library and the science center spaces while bolstering our local community's STEAM resource access.