Education
Source: Katy ISD
Katy ISD’s Shaw STEAM Center Ignites Summer Learning with Interactive Camps and Community Engagement
July 29 2024
School may have been out but the learning continued for hundreds of students this summer at Katy ISD’s Shaw STEAM Center. Through fun, interactive camps, the Center remained a hub of activity for students, as the flame of discovery was lit, in many, for the first time.
The Center is led by Steve Adams and Liz Dethloff, each with decades of experience in public education. They are routinely contacted by school administrators from across the nation, wanting to learn more about the district’s unique STEAM Center space and how it benefits students, families and the wider community.
“Daily, we are able to see students of all ages excited about being in a school setting and engaging in STEAM learning,” Adams said. “It is genuinely what education should look like.”
Beginning next school year, every Katy ISD third-grade and seventh-grade student will visit the Shaw Center on a field trip. In addition, the Center also hosts family science nights and teacher professional development, as well as serving as a headquarters for the District’s high school robotics teams.
Dethloff leads the instruction at the STEAM Center, and works with District leaders, teachers and parent volunteers to plan curriculum-based activities for students and families that visit the Center.
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“I love seeing the excitement on our students’ faces as they come in our front doors,” Dethloff shared. “I see the Shaw Center becoming an entrenched tradition for the families of our growing Katy community.”
To her, STEAM education helps to equip students for their future careers, stimulating their curiosity and fostering a “lifelong love of learning.”
In addition to STEAM programming, the Shaw Center hosts a variety of student groups, including Girl Scouts, Destination Imagination teams, and GT activities.
Cindee Devlin, Business and Outreach Mentor for Tompkins High School’s robotics team, is a long-time volunteer and parent of three Tompkins’ graduates, all of whom were part of the robotics team. She and her husband Brian continue to support the team with their technical and business expertise.
She has seen how STEAM education has positively impacted her children and many others who have been part of the Tompkins team. Participation in STEAM programs, specifically in robotics, provides students with a variety of technical skills, but it also provides them with life skills. They learn how to work on a team, how to manage their time effectively and how to lead others.
(Source: Katy ISD)“Robotics gives students confidence in themselves, that they can learn or figure out anything,” Devlin said. “Parents all want the best for their kids and we expose them to technologies that may encourage them to further participate in junior high or high school robotics.”
Mae Chen, a rising senior at Jordan High School and the Strategy Officer for the school's robotics team, was first introduced to robotics at 9 years of age. When asked, she admits she wasn't enthusiastic about it but quickly fell in love with the competitive environment. Her interest has only grown over the years, so much so, that she created her own camps to get younger students involved in robotics.
"We cover basic mechanical systems in the first week and go deeper into the season's competition game in the second week," Chen said. "From the promotional work to developing and teaching camp curriculum, pulling off Jordan's first-ever robotics camp took the work of dozens of students."
The team-led camps are a win-win for all District students. Elementary and junior high school students gain interest in new topics from skilled mentors, and high school students gain experience teaching others and organizing events. The camps also provide critical fundraising for the robotics teams to compete each school year, and former Katy ISD robotics students have gone on to careers at NASA, Space X and other major corporations. Devlin’s son is now an engineer in the military.
This summer’s camps included instruction in robots and coding, animation, Legos, web development and more. The Center also partnered with Rice University’s Office of STEM Engagement to offer fun, age-specific camps for elementary students to learn more about electronics, physics and engineering.
“Every student will not pursue a STEAM career, but every student deserves to know about the opportunities in STEAM and how thoroughly engaging these can be,” Adams said. “Our goal is to give them exposure and a positive experience.”
Katy ISD’s fall semester begins Wednesday, August 14.
Source: Katy ISD
