STEAM Education is an approach to teaching and learning that combines science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math to guide student inquiry, discussion, and problem-solving. Education experts say STEAM education is about more than developing practical skills alone. It also helps students develop the capacity to: take thoughtful risks, engage in meaningful learning activities, become resilient problem solvers, embrace and appreciate collaboration, and work through the creative processes.

We want our students to be well-rounded and successful. STEAM incorporates the benefits of STEM in and through the arts to give a more complete, well-rounded education. Although some feel this distinction is unnecessary because regular STEM includes creativity, leaders of the STEAM movement think that the arts provide a critical missing piece to STEM education that then prepares students to not only understand science, technology, engineering, and math but know how to apply principles from each of these disciplines to solve problems creatively.

To create a successful STEAM program, educators must include the arts in STEM authentically. It’s not about adding creativity to STEM but rather applying art in real-world situations. For example, if students had an assignment to create a product as a STEM project, incorporating arts in an authentic way would be to improve the appearance or design of the product using principles of industrial design. Using robots to teach STEAM can also help children understand how technology can be used to solve real-world problems. This is learning the “art” of the real world.

Leonardo Da Vinci was on to something years ago when he stated, "Study the science of art. Study the art of science." More recently, students and academics at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) have spearheaded the concept of STEAM—which brings the elements of STEM together with arts to guide students' critical thinking, inquiry, and dialogue. Proponents of STEAM education recognize the importance of creativity and innovation in the future to solve our problems.

Since we don’t yet know what jobs will look like as we progress further into the 21st century, it makes sense to educate our children with the skills and capacity to think outside the box with creative solutions. This is something STEAM education can effectively prepare them to do. Also, given the ever-increasing importance robotics has in society, already commonplace in a broad spectrum of industries and applications, utilizing robotics in STEAM education introduces children to a technology that will be an economic pillar in the near future and then, of course, forever more. We want kids to understand their future in all aspects.

Educational robotics is a learning tool that enhances students’ learning experience through hands-on mind-on learning. Most importantly, educational robotics provides a fun and exciting learning environment because of its hands-on nature and technology integration. Robots are a great way to bridge the “oh that is so cool” effect of STEAM with “here’s how it works.” An early introduction to robotics will have an enduring positive impact that a child cannot outlive, giving them a distinct advantage in all aspects of life.