Creating, Critical Thinking and Deep Exploration with STEAM

STEAM Centre school workshops tap into a variety of creative tools from simple scissors and markers to complex – design thinking, 3D design and electronics – to help students learn foundational, character-building skills that empower them to solve authentic problems, develop perseverance, engage in their community and develop a global perspective. 

For the 2023/24  school year, we're offering live in person and online instruction or asynchronous virtual instruction, along with complete classroom kits of materials for each student. Learn with us or at your own pace.  Classes start at just $8/student including all materials (minimum 20 students required). If you find a workshop that interests you simply fill out our school workshop request form to find out more information or to book. 

School Workshop Request Form

K-8 Workshop BrochUre

The Art of Science Take your budding artistry and chemistry skills to the next level in this creative exploratory workshop! We are going to make some beautiful art and bring it to the next level (literally) and elevate our understanding of how different ingredients and materials work together. We will also investigate how adding heat to mixed substances changes their state of matter, making something brand new. By mixing art and science you improve your communication and investigation skills, gain a wonder for the scientific world, and get to see how things are not always as they seem. Curriculum Connections or Topics Covered: Kindergarten: Belonging and Contributing, Self-Regulation and Wellbeing, and Mathematics and Literacy Behaviours Grade 1/2: STEM Skills and Connections Grade 1: Everyday Materials, Objects, and Structures Grade 1: Energy in Our Lives Grade 2: Properties of Liquids and Solids

Vroom, vroom...Make your own moving car! All cars use wheels and axles, but our car is special because it also contains a pull-back mechanism to shoot it forward! In this field trip we will look at mechanisms and movement. Mechanisms make things move using simple machines. These mechanisms include levers, inclined planes, pulleys, screws, and wheels and axles! A mechanical engineer or a mechanic gets to build and fix simple machines all day. See what it would be like to work in their world. Curriculum Connections or Topics Covered: Grade 1/3/4: STEM Skills and Connections Grade 1: Everyday Materials, Objects, and Structures Grade 2: Simple Machines and Movement Grade 3: Strong and Stable Structures Grade 3: Forces and Motion Grade 4: Machines and Their Mechanisms *may contain latex

Learn about building strong and stable structures by making your own versions of the Three Little Pigs houses! Except, we will teach you to make yours even stronger! At the end, you will compare your 3 structures to discover what makes them so strong. Then, we will put them to the test with your very own Big Bad Wolf mini vortex cannon or try it against a simulated flood, earthquake, hurricane, and giant alien attack! While you're building, consider the pros and cons of each material you're using! Curriculum Connections or Topics Covered: Kindergarten: Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviours Kindergarten: Problem Solving and Innovating Grade 1/3: Geometric and Spatial Reasoning, Grade 1/2: Measurement Grade 1: STEM Skills and Connections Grade 1: Everyday Materials, Objects, and Structures Grade 2: Properties of Liquids and Solids Grade 3: Strong and Stable Structures *may contain latex

We can control forces and movement by creating simple machines to perform specific functions. Today we will build a crane to lift and knock over objects. Cranes are a type of mechanical system because they use simple machines to move objects. The crane we are building today uses pulleys to move objects up and down, and an axle to pivot from side to side. Cranes involve a number of different forces to perform different tasks. To lift the crane, we will crank the knobs which winds up the crane's cables using the input force of pulling. This will produce an output force of the crane lifting. The crane will also pivot and use a magnet. Curriculum Connections or Topics Covered: Grade 3: Forces in Motion Grade 4:Machines and Their Mechanisms Grade 5: Forces Acting on Structures

In this workshop the sky's the limit! We can adapt this workshop to suit any skill level using a variety of hardwares and softwares, mixing the unique adaptations of various coding structures with the limitless possibilities of your imagination. Text and block based coding, BBC micro:bits, Ozobots, Spheros, and digital design are some of the possible adaptations this workshop can take. We will work with you to build up your skills whether it’s learning the basics, a new skill for an experienced coder, or just upping the ante on your own expertise, all while showing you that coding can be a fun and creative space for your own ideas to flourish! *Hardware availability for in-person workshops only

In the light section we look at how the colours of lights can be broken down into what we call a wavelength spectrum, which looks like a rainbow. We are going to build a spectroscope which allows you to see the wavelength spectrums of light, which can help determine what elements a light source is made of. This uses the properties of refraction and diffraction. To explore sound we are going to look at bee sounds. Do you notice that bees only buzz when they fly? That is because the buzzing noise you hear comes from their wings flapping against the wind, which creates a vibration that travels to our ears. Have you noticed how a bee sounds higher pitched closer to you than it does farther away? We are going to build a Buzzing Bee to experiment with all of these differences in sound! Curriculum Connections or Topics Covered: Grade 4: Light and Sound *may contain latex

Get ready to spread your wings and take flight! Students will learn about how things fly and complete challenges, compare flight tests, and make some awesome designs along the way! Build up from paper plane, to paper helicopter to laser-cut foam glider! Then create a colourful parachute to get first hand experience of how air creates drag! It will teach you about the amazing way things fly, building some creative confidence along the way and let you unleash your inner designer on the laser cut glider! Curriculum Connections or Topics Covered: Grade 5: Forces Acting on Structures Grade 6: Flight Grade 6: Geometric Reasoning Grade 7: Form, Function, and Design of Structures

With these Ozobots you will be challenged to complete challenges that progressively increase in technical difficulty. You’ll have to work on your own or as a team to determine the best approach to each task and use your critical thinking skills to navigate these fun activities. You’ll use colour-coding techniques to direct your Ozobots and complete the mazes created in-class during exciting timed challenges. *Hardware availability for in-person workshops only

In this workshop students will explore the importance of water as a resource for all living things and how inequities around the world challenge access to clean and drinkable water systems. Students will design and build their own water filtration systems through the lens of representing various countries and analyze the success of their experiment based on their acquired materials. They will also be provided with simulated funds and supplies to work out numeracy in budgeting, learn about Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the role of international governmental aid. Curriculum Connections or Topics Covered: Grade 7/8: Money and Finances Grade 8: STEM Investigation and Communication Skills Grade 8: Water Systems

In this field trip students will be designing a flapping bird automaton! An automaton is a mechanical machine that helps us move objects in a predetermined way. For example, we would like to make a bird's wings flap. An automaton can help us do that without having to touch the wings! Automatons are like the ancient ancestors of robots! Just like we program robots like OzoBots with code to follow a set of instructions, we essentially program automata with mechanical systems! The automaton is a system of simple machines and components that work together to perform the desired function, making this machine almost like code you can hold in your hands! Curriculum Connections or Topics Covered: Grade 7: Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts Grade 7/8: Creating and Presenting Grade 7: Coding Grade 7/8: Number Sense