At Prairie Grove Elementary School, STEAM doesn't roll between classrooms on a cart. It has a home.
STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. Teacher Kristina Walter leads it as a co-curricular special in her own classroom, working with every student from early childhood through 4th grade.
Ask her students what they love most, and the answer rarely changes: clay, paint, and anything with animals.
"They truly love using the not-every-day, hands-on art materials," Walter says.
A few years ago, her classroom hosted a Glow Gallery art show featuring student artwork that glowed under black light. Walter remembers it as "a whole new level of excitement, creativity, engagement, and learning."
For Walter, STEAM is a natural extension of her background as an art teacher. Students learn about nature, make connections to math and technology and explore the world around them, all through their own hands.
"Students work with various materials to build, design, experiment, and turn an idea into something they can see and touch," she says. "They're developing problem-solving skills, learning that it's okay to make mistakes, and being creative with their solutions."
That last lesson may be the most important one. In Walter's classroom, a mistake isn't the end of a project. It's the start of a better idea.