July 10, 2017

Summer STEAM Academy kicks-off at PS/IS 366 Washington Heights Academy

On July 6th, students at PS/IS 366 Washington Heights Academy were excited to begin their summer at the DDC/WHA Summer STEAM Academy. This is the second year of New York City Department of Design and Construction’s (DDC) Middle School Summer Enrichment Program. Throughout July and August students in the program will learn about the built environment from ancient time to the present using a vocabulary-and concept-rich curriculum developed by the DDC STEAM division. Fifty students were selected and will receive instruction four mornings per week on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Architecture and Math (STEAM).  Fridays students visit sites where they focused on the relationship between architecture, design, and sustainable design in urban environments. Field trips will include the New York Hall of Science, and Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and Solar 1- Stuyvesant Cove Park.

On day one, students were introduced to DDC projects around New York City by STEAM members Jillian Ramos and Anthony Martin, followed by the first engineering challenge the “straw tower” led by WHA teachers Manuel Estrella and Tanisha Osorio. Students are learning to work and communicate collaboratively in a project based learning environment.  For their final project students will spend the last week of the program building a “Future City,” incorporating elements of design throughout history that they studied over the course of the summer. Assistant Principal Lynn Herndon encouraged the young engineers to work together and be inquisitive in their design process.

STEAM Team member checks in with the class.