As an Educational and Interpretive Programming Intern, I am taking on the role to develop education programming at the Bates Museum of Art. I am thankful to be working with the Education Curator at the Bates Museum of Art, Anthony Shostak, as well as one of my peers, Courtney Porfido, to create a program called STEAM Power. STEAM is a fascinating approach to education that includes science, technology, engineering, and math with art (STEM + art = STEAM). This allows for more interactive programming and divergent thinking in students. Courtney and I have begun to conduct research on STEAM programs that already exist and have proven to be successful in museums, schools, and other centers across the country. Once we have a better understanding of STEAM programs that already exist, we will begin to design a program that is reflective of the middle and high school curricula in the Lewiston and Auburn areas.

      STEAM Power will give middle and high school students in the Lewiston and Auburn areas the opportunity to make connections between the arts and sciences while interacting with exhibits in the Bates Museum. STEAM Power will activate existing collections in the Bates Museum, such as the museum’s astrophotography collection and Isabella Kirkland’s Taxa series, as well as future exhibitions, such as Anthropocenic. STEAM Power curriculum will be based on these collections. Students will explore artwork displayed in these exhibitions while learning about the sciences through unique programming.

      My interest in interning at the museum sparked after I completed my internship at The Rubin Museum this past summer. I had a similar role there, where I was involved in aspects of the creation of a new curriculum for workshops and tours that were reflective of the K-12 New York State Common Core Standards. My summer internship allowed me to gain research and curriculum design skills pertinent to creating interdisciplinary programming. The development of STEAM Power at Bates will allow me to practice these research and curriculum design skills to help create a program that integrates art with science, technology, engineering, and math. I look forward to continue working on the development of STEAM Power!

By

-Emily Plotnikov

Psychology & Education