A great emphasis has been placed in educational and political circles on motivating students to study the STEM fields. STEM stand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. According to the U.S. Government’s Education website, internationally, the U.S. is falling behind rapidly in the STEM fields, “Only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in mathematics and interested in a STEM career. Even among those who do go on to pursue a college major in the STEM fields, only about half choose to work in a related career. The United States is falling behind internationally, ranking 25th in mathematics and 17th in science among industrialized nations. In our competitive global economy, this situation is unacceptable.”

STEM + Art = STEAM

STEAM is a movement championed by Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and widely adopted by institutions, corporations and individuals. The inclusion of the Arts (and Design) in the STEM paradigm is crucial. The Arts folks are Makers: creators of the physical world we live in. RISD President John Maeda states, “my experience as the President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has reawakened me to the world of physical creation. RISD is the ultimate culture of makers. There is no greater integrity, no greater goal achieved, than an idea articulately expressed through something made with your hands. We call this constant dialogue between eye, mind, and hand “critical thinking — critical making.”

Albuquerque Makers

We are fortunate to have the organizers of Albuquerque Mini Maker Faire will be on-hand at the Rail Yards Market this Sunday (July 26) to lead our Educational Zones! They will be exhibiting 3-D Printers, Robots, Digital Arts and taking apart and putting back together electronic devices. The Mini Maker Faire is August 29/30, more info at the above link.

Making Music, Sounds and Aerial Acrobatics

On our Main Stage Ana Mall will be making desert sounds. The 4 Winds Belly Dance troupe promise to entertain folks young and old. They are followed by the therapeutic sounds of Sax Therapy! Our headliners for the day are the flyingly fantastic folks from the Albuquerque Aerialist Collective. Don’t miss them swinging from our rafters beginning at 1pm.

Whether you make things employing science, technology, engineering or math, or just admire the process, come and join the folks at the Rail Yards Market as the welcome Makers who are putting the Arts in STEAM. See you Sunday!

The Rail Yards Market is a free event featuring local growers, food vendors, arts, crafts, entertainment and education. Located at 777 1st Street, Barelas, NM. Doors open to the public at 10 am and close at 2 pm.

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Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities.