For Good: MOSI helps at-risk youth with STEAM partnership

Megan Hendricks | Tuesday, October 14, 2014

A new program at MOSI will help at-risk youth develop skills needed for STEAM careers.

The program, which will begin this fall, is referred to as STEAM E4, with the STEAM referring to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. The four E’s are: exposure, exploration, education and employment. Middle and high school students, as well as some adults, will come to MOSI for a variety of hands-on educational experiences designed to help them develop and hone skills and become workforce-ready.

Workshops on astronomy and space exploration will be provided in MOSI’s existing Mission Moonbase, a simulated lunar base where participants learn through immersion. The Ideazone will serve as an area for hands-on education in digital and video game design and robotics.

The pilot program is a major component of MOSI Technical Institute (MTI), which aims to identify and fulfill gaps within the local workforce to ultimately connect people with jobs.

"We’re focusing on project-based activities that increase their skills set and focus on the jobs of the future," says Molly Demeulenaere, interim-president and CEO of MOSI. "People think museums are these quiet spaces where you don’t touch anything, but science centers and MOSI in particular are a hub of education and activity."

The program also includes a research component, where MOSI will continually monitor progress to determine how to eventually replicate it across the nation.

The project is a collaboration between MOSI and Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa (CDC), a nonprofit that focuses on alleviating poverty in east Tampa through programs such as job training, housing and rehabilitation. Rather than starting from scratch to identify the students who are most in need, MOSI decided to partner with the CDC who already had the students and help them fill a gap. "It’s about going to where the people are," says Demeulenaere.

The program is funded by a $149,600 grant recently received from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS). The prestigious and highly competitive grant program helps museums and libraries further innovation and lifelong learning.

Read more articles by Megan Hendricks.

A Florida native and longtime Tampa Bay resident, Megan Hendricks graduated from the University of South Florida with a master's degree in business administration. She worked at the USF College of Business and has extensive community experience including the Tampa Bay Partnership's Talent Dividend Advisory Board, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Emerge Tampa Bay, Ekhos, and Bar Camp Tampa. She is a former board member and newsletter editor for Creative Tampa Bay. Megan enjoys telling the stories that make Tampa Bay a unique, diverse cultural experience.