STEAM Community Studio is an experiential learning and community innovation program for students of all levels to investigate, and design new solutions to real-world problems facing St. Thomas and Elgin County. Through research, design thinking and prototyping activities, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary students gain the exceptional ability to directly inform public policy discussions, support community members, municipalities, businesses, charitable and not-for-profit organizations.

Here's how Community Studio works:

Public Call for Ideas - Individuals, business owners, municipalities, charitable organizations, and community groups are invited to submit persistent issues and challenges. We accept submissions ongoing and select six projects annually.

Matching Projects to Students - Once projects are selected, the STEAM team facilitates learning by connecting with various school board learning coordinators and teachers at all academic levels to partner students with relevant community impact projects.

Industry Expertise and Research - The STEAM team researches the issues at play and builds relationships with quality industry experts who then assist the students by providing them with insightful research considerations.

Prototyping Solutions - Once equipped with the knowledge needed, STEAM Centre works with the students to develop their ideas for prototyping possible solutions. For each project, up to $2000 is available to execute original, viable projects or prototypes to begin to address the issues involved. 

Community Projects Happening Now

All six projects for the 2020-2021 have now been selected through a public application call, followed by consultation with individuals and groups to understand the scope of each challenge. The inaugural projects are: 

1. Reducing Waste; Finding reuse for items in a cluttered world. Students from Western University's Environmental Health Promotions program prototyped a dynamic plan to create a reuse centre at the the City of St Thomas' Recycling Centre in partnership with Habitat for Humanity St. Thomas Restore. The reuse proposal was accepted unanimously by City Councilors, and the project is scheduled for implementation in 2021.  View the press release from the City of St. Thomas here and final project report here.
2. Creating Welcoming Sensory Spaces. Students from Eagle Heights Elementary School's Excellerators group are collaborating with Grade 12 students from St. Joseph's Catholic High School and the SHSM Manufacturing and Design students of Arthur Voaden Secondary School to create modular sensory walls and tables for the Wellkin Child & Youth Mental Wellness Centre.
3. Creating a Virtual Marketplace to aid local business. Students from H.B. Beal Secondary School SHSM program, Fanshawe College and Western University including Ivey Business School are building a plan to help downtown businesses build stronger online connections. They have created the #RailwayCitySocial event that is set to engage the public with local business instagram pages and to help businesses learn through Instagram 
4. Creating an Audio, Video Production Studio for Youth Skill Building. Visual Arts and Video and Design students from Oakridge Secondary School are working to design a creative space at the Ignite Youth Centre where every voice can be heard.
5. Connecting with Nature: Building empathy for living things and the wonders of life. Many in our society are growing more disconnected to nature.  Grade 10 students in the Communication Technology class at Arthur Voaden will explore ways using live nesting cams at the Jaffa Environmental Centre/ Springwater Forest to inspire people to develop an interest in nature and become stewards of the environment. You can view the final project report here.
6.  Smoke Detectors for Seniors. The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the highest increase in house fires fatalities since 1998, due to more people working and staying at home.  39% of these victims are senior citizens. Seniors among the most vulnerable, with most fires occurring after caregivers leave between 4pm - 8am. The St. Thomas Fire Department offers assistance to those who need batteries checked and replaced, new detectors put in and even provides support through a smoke alarm loaner system and yet many vulnerable seniors do not reach out to utilize these services.  Students from Fanshawe College's Public Relations Program and McMaster University's Early Childhood Education program have come together with the goal to build a multi-lingual public educational campaign to help save lives.

Get Involved! If you have expertise to share or a problem to address or a class you would love to have involved, please get in touch with us. Submit your idea for consideration below or send us a note if you have a skill to contribute.

Submit an Idea

This multi-year project is generously funded by The Estate of Donna Bushell within Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation.