AWA STEM Design Workshops

A cosplayer Ms. Frizzle speaking to children about the importance of STEAM at Escape Velocity in 2016.

One of Art Way Alliance’s missions involves utilizing pop culture to teach STEAM based curriculum to children. One way we accomplish this is through design workshops and classes. During these events, we ask participants to create items that best incorporates one or more elements of STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Math.

Students thoroughly enjoy this, and are often shocked when we tell them that many of the items that they enjoy today actually started in comics. While we exalt necessity as the mother of invention, we cannot dismiss the role that imagination and design has had in technology and engineering.

Read: Modern Marvels: 15 Real Life Inventions You Won’t Believe Started in Comic Books

In addition to drawing STEAM based items, students also get to draw their own characters. With a few prompts to help along the way, children and adults alike were able to create their own versions of scientists, engineers or inspired creatures. It was great to see what they were able to come up with. Check out these drawings and ideas, below.

What STEAM based character or item would you design?