At STEAMistic, one goal central to our mission is to ignite curiosity in youth through hands-on STEAM learning. Curiosity often begins with a single, powerful question: Why?

Why do plants grow the way they do? Why does snow make your eyes burn on a bright winter day? When participants ask these questions, science becomes an interactive investigation. It invites youth to dig deeper and connect their learning to the world.

As Director of Activity Design and Research, I am part of the team that helps craft these experiences. A vital part of asking “why” is considering the diverse sources of human knowledge. STEAM does not stand apart from land, community, and history. That is why we have been intentional about weaving Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into our newer workshop designs. Grounding our activities in these perspectives helps participants see science as something deeply human and culturally alive.

Below is the iterative process we use when designing workshops.

Step 1: Identifying a Curriculum-Aligned Science Topic

Every STEAMistic workshop starts with selecting a scientific concept directly from the Alberta curriculum. Once we land on a topic, we map out its core scientific properties, think about the questions it raises, and ask ourselves what a young learner would find surprising or compelling about it. 

For example, when we look at the properties of light in the Grade 2 curriculum, we can design a workshop around how light travels, reflects and refracts, or around how it interacts with different coloured surfaces. Identifying the key ideas within each topic is essential before we move toward brainstorming how they can relate to the world around us.

Step 2: Connecting the Science to Real-World and Cultural Relevance

Once we have a solid grip on the science, we seek the “why” by researching how these concepts operate in the physical world and within modern technology. We spend this time researching online to find where these scientific properties solve problems or appear in nature. This stage is where the curriculum comes alive as we look for the direct “why” behind the existence of specific objects and phenomena. 

Sometimes, the “why” behind a scientific application relates directly to Indigenous cultures and traditional knowledge. When we identify a cultural connection, we research the topic directly from Indigenous sources, such as websites, videos, or written materials. This ensures we learn from authentic perspectives so we can present our understanding in a respectful and informed way.

When we look at the properties of light, we find examples across many areas of the real world. For instance, the way light bends as it passes through different materials explains how corrective eyeglasses use refraction to focus light on the retina. We also see this in nature when a rainbow forms from light refracting and reflecting through water droplets.

Indigenous traditions also offer incredible examples of how scientific principles are applied to solve environmental challenges. Because sunlight reflects intensely off the bright white snow in the Arctic, Inuit communities developed snow goggles called iggaak by carving narrow horizontal slits into materials such as bone and wood to limit the amount of light entering the eyes. This design helps protect the wearer from snow blindness by reducing the amount of ultraviolet light reaching the retina.

Step 3: Building a Hands-On Activity

The final stage involves transforming our research and scientific topics into a physical activity that students can build and test. We gather inspiration for workshops from a wide range of sources online, experiment with different methods, and adapt activities to fit different age groups, skill levels, and materials available to ensure the activities are both fun and accessible.

We applied this process to our light example by developing a hands-on iggaak project. Students use card stock and string to construct their own version of iggaak based on the traditional design. By looking through the narrow slits, participants can gain an understanding of how the physical structure of the goggles changes their perception of light and glare, while also gaining some insight on how Inuit communities responded to the environmental conditions of their everyday life. 

As the Activity Design & Research team, it is also crucial to acknowledge that a single workshop has limitations when it comes to representing the vast depth of Indigenous cultures and traditions. While we aim to spark interest through these activities, we understand that a short session cannot capture every cultural nuance or teaching. We remain committed to being respectful and informed to ensure our activities serve as a thoughtful introduction to the brilliance of traditional technology.

What makes designing workshops so meaningful is the chance to help young people experience STEAM as something woven into everyday life and human experience. A workshop might conclude with the question “why?,” yet that can lead participants toward a richer sense of how scientific ideas live in the natural world and the ways people have learned from it.

Including Indigenous cultures and traditional knowledge within the planning process adds depth to the workshops because it connects scientific learning to the knowledge carried forward across generations. These perspectives show participants that observation and innovation have long been part of Indigenous communities in ways that are closely tied to daily life. Bringing those connections into workshop design highlights how STEAM is rooted in lived knowledge.

For the Activity Design & Research team, crafting these experiences is a very special responsibility. Each workshop is a chance to spark curiosity in young minds and create experiences that are memorable and full of possibility. There is something exciting about imagining that a single activity could stay with a participant long enough to help shape the future generation of STEAM leaders and innovators.

We hope each STEAMistic workshop leaves participants with a sense of wonder and the inspiration to explore the world around them.