Clemson University to launch STEAM Network at Artisphere in Greenville
From GSA Business:
Clemson University’s exhibit at Artisphere in downtown Greenville will include an announcement about a new partnership that could change how students learn at the university and beyond. The three-day celebration of visual and performing arts starts Friday, May 8 and runs through Sunday, May 10.
Two university deans will announce the launch of the Clemson University STEAM Network. The exhibit is part of an effort to ensure that the arts don’t get left behind as students gravitate to science, technology, engineering and math.As part of the network, 32 faculty and staff members are coming together to find new ways of adding an “A” for the arts into the STEM mix. The public will be invited to see what they can build with common items, such as paper clips and cardboard tubes. Participants will then add their inventions to one continuously changing sculpture.
Clemson’s exhibit will be at Main and Broad streets. All activities are free and open to the public.
Anand Gramopadhye, dean of the College of Engineering and Science, said that the arts can help inspire creativity and recruit a more diverse mix of students to engineering and the sciences.
“The intersection of art and STEM has a long history,” he said. “The Duomo cathedral in Florence, Italy was so big and so important, it helped start a whole new era of art and construction engineering.
“Likewise, Taj Mahal is considered both an artistic splendor and a civil engineering jewel.”
Rick Goodstein, dean of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, said that the arts help students develop empathy and creative thought.
“The arts not only help individuals lead richer, more well rounded lives but also give them a competitive advantage,” he said. “Good leaders understand empathy, and creativity is crucial to innovation.
The exhibit schedule also includes code “Scribbler Robots” to draw in an elevated sandbox and a web-based “morphing tool” that can create designs for keeping.