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Education

STEM Evolution

Published June 26, 2025Admin Only:

(Photo Courtesy of Santiago STEAM Magnet Elementary School)

OC students create and innovate through STEM and STEAM.

The ocMaker Challenge asks students to design and build a product that solves a problem, need or want.

Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) STEM Coordinator Julie Heimer said that recently, student teams have designed everything from eco-friendly phone chargers powered by solar energy to adaptive utensils for those with limited hand mobility. They also designed wearable technology projects that support mental wellness and repurposed household items transformed into tools for community safety.

“Each year through the ocMaker Challenge, we see incredibly creative and thoughtful projects,” Heimer said. “These projects reflect not only students’ understanding of STEM principles, but also their empathy and innovation.” 

Whether countywide or at the school level, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) projects are in a continual state of evolution among Orange County students. 

As Heimer said, “STEM education equips students with critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills that are essential for the future. It’s not just about content knowledge — it’s about fostering a mindset that is curious, resilient and solution-oriented. Teaching STEM helps students make meaningful connections between what they learn in school and the world around them, preparing them to be thoughtful, capable contributors to their communities.”

Sara Ludovise, coordinator of Inside the Outdoors, OCDE’s environmental education program, said the program was founded in 1974 and brings STEM education to more than 100,000 Orange County students annually through hands-on field trips to local parks and STEM classroom programs taught by Traveling Scientists.

“This year, Inside the Outdoors has been partnering with UC Irvine’s School of Education and Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering on Project CoAST, which is funded by the National Science Foundation,” Ludovise said. “Through this project, we’re working to develop a new high school environmental engineering program focused on the Santa Ana River. Our goal is to develop a program that helps learners develop an improved ability to think about engineered systems — such as the river — while leveraging their knowledge of their own community to take action on local challenges.”

Ludovise said since science and engineering are about solving problems at their core, the goal is to teach these subjects in authentic ways. 

“When students investigate real and relevant problems — whether that takes the form of kindergarten students investigating how to bring back habitat for butterflies in Mile Square Park on an Inside the Outdoors field trip, or high school students exploring how to better design the Santa Ana River during Project CoAST — they’re able to apply the skills and knowledge that they’ve been learning in the classroom to the real world. This type of rigorous approach helps students synthesize what they’re learning and prepares them to tackle important challenges in the future.”

Rossella Santagata, Ph.D., professor at the School of Education at UC Irvine, said the Project CoAST curriculum investigates engineering challenges such as water quality in the Santa Ana River, water resource management, and infrastructure and flood control. 

“The curriculum that we are currently developing will be tested with three classes — approximately 100 students — next fall,” Santagata said. “The curriculum will then be made available to teachers and informal educators for free through the project website.”

Jack Gupton, of Kennedy High School in La Palma, teaches a variety of Computer Science and Engineering classes. He said the Kennedy Institute of Technology and Engineering (KITE) program begins at their feeder middle school, Walker Junior High School, where students can begin with the program as early as seventh grade through several introductory STEAM offerings. 

“Those who are interested can start our formal A–G Engineering pathway by taking Engineering 1 in eighth grade, giving them an edge as they enter the high school side of our pathway at Kennedy High School,” Gupton said. “As ninth-graders, these students often complete Engineering 2, and then advance to either AP Computer Science A or Intro to Computer Science in 10th grade.”

Kristin Thomsen, principal at Santiago STEAM Magnet Elementary School in Lake Forest, said their school’s interdisciplinary project-based learning units embed STEAM concepts through an engineering process, which allows students to apply science and math skills through real-world application via art and technology. 

Thomsen said that this year, the school was recognized with the 2025 California Distinguished Schools award for academic achievement. The campus is also home to a Moon Tree — a giant sequoia sapling that was onboard NASA’s Artemis I Mission. Thomsen said students are Moon Tree Stewards who pledge to care for the giant sequoia for years to come. 

“Each and every student is ready and eager to learn through STEAM,” Thomsen said. “Our youngest students engage in projects from the very first day of school. For example, our kindergarteners view themselves as engineers and communicate their design ideas in project team presentations to an authentic audience. STEAM is more than just fun — it matters and it makes a difference for even our youngest Santiago STEAM engineers who know that they are changing the world for the better.” 


By Jessica Peralta

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