When designing the After-School Club to supplement the Omaha Metro school district’s focus on math and reading, we wanted to provide students with an expanded spotlight on STEAM-based learning, incorporating vital 21st-century skills in a fun, virtual space in which the students could participate. Students would be able to synthesize these skills in a slightly different learning environment, one that fosters practical answers to often abstract ideas and that provides an emphasis on enhancing technology literacy.

The programs team was tasked with creating a set of lessons that were varied and informative, and cultivated engagement with the participants. We gathered input from Omaha Metro area schools to ensure that we created relevant, additional learning opportunities to supplement the curriculum for elementary and middle-school aged children while cultivating curiosity about STEAM learning. After-School Club students learn and practice new skills that will serve as an entry point to interest in STEAM education.

STEAM learning hones real-life observation and analysis skills for young people and helps make participants better problem-solvers and creative thinkers, qualities needed in a complex and changing world. The objectives of the After-School Club are to encourage new learning and cultivate hobbies, provide relevant learning opportunities and engage students in STEAM practices, and support the development of 21st-century skills, such as critical thinking, creativity and technology literacy.