SCIENTIFIC ARTS (SCIARTS)

HOLA’s Scientific Arts Program provides elementary, middle and high school students with free after-school Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math (STEAM) classes utilizing project-based learning, creative technology engagement and fostering a supportive learning community. The program is grounded in Maker-style education, a distinct movement that uses DIY projects to help students learn 21st-century skills and to solve their own design problems. Under a hands-on STEAM framework, students learn not just the subject matter, but how to learn, how to ask questions, how to experiment and how to create. HOLA’s Scientific Arts Program helps youth to boost their noncognitive abilities, analytical thinking, resilience and self-motivation.

Throughout the school year, the Scientific Arts Program offers more than 20 core classes in subjects such as engineering, robotics, computer repair, graphic design, circuit bending and more. In each session, students participate in project-based classes that center around skills-building through hands-on experimentation. Scientific Arts staff also supports HOLA’s elementary and middle school education programs in providing Common Core Standards-aligned math and science classes which are taught by academic program staff and credentialed teachers.

STEAM (Science, Technology, ENGINEERING, Arts, MATHEMATICs)

No area is growing faster, nor is more in need of skilled workers, than STEAM-related fields. Georgetown University conducted a study on job growth and education requirements across the workforce through the year 2020, and found that almost 5 million jobs will go unfilled because of skill gaps, particularly in the fields of healthcare STEAM-related fields. In addition, evidence shows that the earlier students are exposed to the STEAM disciplines, the better prepared they are for STEAM studies. A study by Microsoft Corporation showed that nearly 78% of STEAM college students decided to study STEAM in high school and 21% decided in middle school, yet only one in five students felt that their K–12 education prepared them for their college STEAM study. HOLA’s Scientific Arts Program prepares students for success in the STEAM-field landscape by engaging them with a variety of STEAM topics in tangible and applicable ways, nurturing curiosity and passion for these fields.