STEMpunk™ Sparks the Imaginations of Learners of All Ages through Distinctive In-Person and Livestream Programs.
What is STEMpunk?
STEMpunk is STEMpunkED’s focus on developing innovative and unusual Living-History STEM+Arts Programs that provide hands-on experiences using vintage technologies to engage STEM topics while also exploring History, Culture, Society, and the analog roots of our digital age. Put another way, we focus on learning adventures in STEM+Arts as they were for the 500 years that came before the last 50 years.
In addition to building STEM proficiency, our programming demonstrates how the past's technological and social structures underpin our modern world. Our offerings are for audiences ages 9 to 109, have designs that map to State Common Core, and are delivered at local and distant schools, libraries, and other institutions. Our programming is inspired by the Steampunk literary genre.
The question at this point usually is...
What is Steampunk?
Steampunk is a type of retro-futuristic speculative science fiction inspired by the technology and society of the Victorian era and the writings of Jules Vern and H.G. Wells. Its story lines invariably ask:
What alternate pasts (or future pasts) would be created if aspects of our modern technology, culture, and counter-culture had developed in the age and esthetic of steam and clockwork?
STEMpunk is a wordplay describing our STEM+Arts & Humanities focus paired with Steampunk themes, which includes our desire to use physical technologies to invoke both the senses and the mind in learning. Though not all of our Programs are strictly Steampunk, all exhibit the genre's hallmarks of playfulness and fluid boundaries.
Why STEMpunk?
Emphasis on students' access to cutting-edge technology overlooks how valuable some of yesteryear's tech can be in helping students (and their teachers) engage with and innovate in STEM+Arts & Humanities topics. Also, modern tech and STEM are too often used and presented outside of either social context or historical perspective. STEMpunkED's programming uses analog equipment and science artifacts to help students not only build proficiency in modern STEM concepts, but also appreciate their historical and social origins.
Booking STEMpunkED
If after exploring our Programs you 'd like to host one of our events either in-person or over your organization’s livestreaming meeting platform, please Contact Us.
Funding Options
If you're an educator looking for ways to pay for STEMpunkED programs in your classroom or online, please take some time to explore potential Funding Options that can bring our unique hands-on learning experiences to your students at little or no cost to you or your school.
Free Resources
Select content behind our programming as well as the associated presentations, virtual simulators, 2D & 3D print files, and web-casts are available at no costs to students, schools, and libraries by visiting our Free Resources page. Use them to support your own learning or educational designs (be sure to give us credit) and please consider booking us for in-person or online delivery. You’ll appreciate our expertise and amazing collection of hands-on vintage STEM tech.
Your Programming
Not only do we create our own programming, we work with you to design and deliver STEMpunk-style programs based on your topics. Contact us to see how we can Partner for success. View our Programs to see ongoing collaborations or visit Testimonials to learn what others say about working with us. Even find out more about us at Who We Are.
