Unearthing the Magic of STEAM
Look, I think we should just get this out of the way, right here, right now:
Yes, I’m the girl who asked for more math homework.
Yes, I’m the middle school student who would stay up late into the night writing pages of proofs and patterns for a simple set of math problems, color-coding and adding a table of contents.
Yes, I’m the college freshman who found mistakes in a professor’s Calculus textbook and told him he should let me proofread (and solve!) all the math problems to ensure they were right. More than 1,000 pages! He let me. And I did.
Yes, I am the girl who still takes math tests online, for fun.
And I cannot even begin to tell you the beautiful numerical patterns I find in every single thing I see and do.
From license plates:
To daily dates:
From math in the sky:
To the popular π:
I unearthed the beauty of math.
But this is not a typical story by far. Not everyone has the wonder of math as I do, not even to a small degree. They find it to be nerdy, difficult, unnecessary, the “when am I ever going to use this?” culprit, and unfortunately — a prime reason for bullying. Because if you didn’t already know, being smart isn’t always considered cool.
Enter: Shr+ha (that’s me!)
I am here to change that perspective and introduce you to the unknown world of math, where you too can become a Mathematical Wizard! Or anything you want.
Enter: STEAM
Traditionally called STEM and based on the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEAM adds the very broad field of arts into the mix. And my love for math, engineering, and creating beautiful things is exactly what STEAM is about. But let’s not be so focused on adding in arts as if it were colorful sprinkles you optionally top your three-scoop waffle-coned ice cream with. Arts needs STEM and STEM needs arts. We do arts a great disservice by making it an “add-on” with fields we believe to be more “relevant”.
The truth is, arts is as critical as any of the other fields. The integration of STEM and arts is key and that leads to the illumination of our multiple facets.
What do I even mean by this? I could share countless things demonstrating the beauty of STEAM, but what I believe to be its most important underlying aspect is that it is each and every human embracing the many facets we have within ourselves. Connecting the part that loves to build bridges with the part that loves to write poetry. The part that loves to play the violin with the part that loves chemistry. It is through these uncommon combinations that we can create incredible, unimaginable things — some big, some small, but each worth experimenting with.
Let me explain and provide an example.
I have never fully understood why people leave parts of who they are and their curiosities at home. The parts where they are fun or creative or have a hobby, oh heck, even have a sense of humor. (Did I just write “heck”?)
Why is it that when we come to work, we are told that work is for work, and everything else is for our personal time? (That is a whole different conversation for another time.) I have always felt that the more we brought our self to work — the passion, the things that drive us to create and build and be better humans — the more we could and would enhance the actual solutions we created.
So here’s my example of STEAM, both in the literal sense of the five fields and in my “be your multi-faceted self” sense.
Back in 2013, I was browsing Kickstarter, an online crowdfunding platform where people share their creative project ideas and get funding from those viewing it. I found one that I instantly knew was going to transform the cool factor of STEM — I felt like I had unearthed a hidden treasure! Called STEAM Carnival, it was a creation of Two Bit Circus’s Brent Bushnell (CEO) and Eric Gradman (CTO), who led a small, then-unknown entertainment and education startup in Los Angeles.
STEAM Carnival completely re-imagined the traveling circus by teaching kids about STEAM through interactive games of lasers, fire, and robots — oh, you BET I was going to be a part of it! I immediately backed the project and reached out to them. And what started as a personal passion project became something I eagerly wanted to bring in to the company I work for — Cisco.
About two years later (mid-2015), I spoke with our Chief People Officer, Fran Katsoudas, about partnering with STEAM Carnival for their San Francisco debut. I told her about how unique this carnival would be and how I envisioned what it could do not just for STEM (which we have been a leading advocate and resource for) but for this fairly new integration of STEAM (yes, the idea of STEAM has been present forever, it’s more about the reemergence of it to excite kids).
Just like everyone I had spoken to for the last two years, Fran had never heard of STEAM Carnival but after hearing my grand plan, she was convinced and on-board.
We (Cisco) ended up becoming co-sponsors of Two Bit Circus’s STEAM Carnival when they came to San Francisco in November 2015. The experience Two Bit Circus created that weekend at Pier 48 for thousands of children and their families was incomparable and unforgettable. Fran later told me how cool her children thought Cisco was after she took them to STEAM Carnival, and the impact I had on Cisco culture, Cisco volunteers, and children all around with this vision. Just take a look at how one Cisco volunteer felt about the whole experience!
My plan worked — those kids would now associate cool with Cisco and cool with smart! And the employees at Cisco, the volunteers, were able to be part of something so incredible. Just like STEM, I love showing people the cool factor of things they never thought to be so. I believe it’s there, you just need to be exposed to it. And guess what, everything I did for Cisco + STEAM Carnival had nothing to do with my “job description”.
You see, the reason it worked was because I brought in all of me — I brought in an external passion (STEAM), I brought in my external friends (Brent and Two Bit Circus), and I created this completely new experience to show the power of an individual (I’m a Greengineer and individual contributor at Cisco). I brought in my creative, educational, and fun facets and asked everyone if they wanted to play.
For me, THAT is STEAM.
STEAM is about embracing the many things we all are. By doing so, I was able to create and make into reality an incredible idea I had.
And when you do that, the magic is inevitable. Trust me, we can all do this.
How can we continue this magic? How can we get more kids (and anyone) excited about STEAM? What can we do next?
- First, dare to be curious: Play and explore things. I became an engineer because as a little girl, I loved taking things apart to see how they worked or sometimes, just to break them. And I was always fixing things, which is why my parents called me their “Little Fixer”.
- Give young children role models to look up to — ones who look like them and ones with a curious brain and a good heart. That’s the magic mix.
- If they don’t like technology or anything STEM related, do NOT force it. Not all of us have to be techies or engineers or physicists. That’s the beauty of humans, we are all so diverse and it should be embraced. Let everyone explore what they love to do, and just give them opportunities to try out and experiment with different things.
- Paint. Draw. Build. Sketch. Dance. Act. Play. Anything. Even if you don’t know how. Especially if you don’t know how. You don’t have to be perfect or the best at it. Don’t deny it. Try it.
- It’s not just about coding. Take something apart. Visit facilities that have free tours, you never know what might spark your interest (places like Recology where waste is recycled and reused, local astronomical societies to gaze at the sky even if you can’t afford the equipment, museums, windmills, etc.). The power of doing things you necessarily wouldn’t is what sparks newfound interest and ideas.
- Recognize, that no matter what, everything has an element of STEM.
So what are you waiting for?! Be like February 8, 2016 (2816) and hop on this STEAM train! You’ll be in for the most magical ride of your BrainHeart’s life! (You’ll recognize me - I’m the playful engineer welcoming you on-board. ;) )
Shraddha Chaplot is a contributing author for the upcoming book, The Internet of Women, Why It Matters. As a Greengineer at Cisco (a fun title she created herself), she’s able to pursue her dream job where her pastimes, passions, and pondering have become her playground at work. Shraddha is also a huge enthusiast of being your authentic self, combining her love for engineering, STEAM, hands–on projects, and wacky ideas to inspire and empower anyone and everyone, and in doing so, enabling them to realize their true potential. She graduated from University of California San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and depth in Machine Intelligence. Read her Huffington Post article One of my Greatest Life Decisions: Becoming an Engineer, follow her on Twitter, take a peek into her playful brain, and join in on her spontaneous adventures!
