Child Care Aware of West Central Arkansas (CCAWCA) will host the second annual Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Conference for early childhood educators January 26 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Frederick M. Dierks Center for Nursing and Health Sciences at National Park College.
The event will include presentations by local and regional STEAM leaders for early childhood education and will feature keynote speakers Shawn Brown and Rachel Parker. Brown formed his own company, Role Model Productions, in 1993 to work with inner city at-risk youth. He began designing educational theatrical programs that utilized original dramatic writings to combat teen pregnancy, gang violence, and drug abuse among high school and middle school age students.
Parker, director of Ferncliff Nature School, is a Level II Certified Forest Kindergarten Teacher. She is passionate about getting young children connected with nature, which is what led her to Ferncliff, and hopes to see nature based early childhood grow in our state.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) began as STEM, a major focus in education to promote scientific innovation. With the addition of A for the arts, STEAM integrates the arts in the STEM curriculum to allow children to apply their academic skills in ways that support intellectual development, creativity, innovation and problem solving. The importance of STEAM in early childhood education is influential for fostering children's innate creativity, exploration and critical thinking during the years that matter most.
The event is open to early childhood educators or anyone interested in learning more about STEAM including public schools, preschools, families, and students. A $75 registration fee is required and lunch will be provided. Learn more at www.np.edu/childcare-aware.
