The Students of the Master’s of Arts in STEAM Teaching and Learning present the 2025 STEAM MINI Conference.
We invite you for exciting workshops, stimulating conversation, and a celebratory reception.
The conference is free and open to the public. Please register to attend.
Tuesday May 14 ~ 5pm-8pm
Adelphi NYC Campus @ St. Francis College
179 Livingston Street, 7th Floor
Free and Open Admissions ~ Registration Required
Please bring a photo ID for the front desk
This program is tentative and subject to change.
In this interactive engineering challenge, teams will design and build structures using limited materials, each representing a real earthquake-prone location: Tokyo, Port-au-Prince, San Francisco, Santiago, or Athens. After building, teams will test their structures on a shake table to see which can withstand the strongest quake. The most resilient design wins! Participants will also vote on superlatives such as Most Culturally Relevant, Most Artistic, and Most Resourceful. This workshop combines science, creativity, and global awareness in a fun, collaborative setting.
In this workshop participants will create organisms and learn key biological concepts including: natural selection and survival of the fittest, adaptation to environmental pressures, trade-offs in evolutionary traits, biodiversity and ecological niches and the human impact on ecosystems and species adaptation.
This workshop merges science and art in a hands-on exploration of microbial life in an urban environment. Participants will use pigmented bacteria to create a living artwork on agar plates. As you paint, think about the unique microbial diversity of NYC, knowing the colors you will eventually see in your petri dish change over time as different bacterial species colonize and succeed one another. How can we connect this to our ever-evolving city? What does ecological succession look like in a city and how can the art we create reflect how we live together?
This workshop will explore making of bones using eggshells, there will be an actual bone repair challenge such as sports injuries, wear and tear and autoimmune disease. Participants will be encouraged to design implants for specific injury, supporting documents, tests, x-ray scans will be provided for reference and use. Participants will test designs against biomechanical requirements.
This workshop explores how different ratios of gelatin, agar-agar, and cornstarch affect the strength, flexibility, and durability of bioplastics for utensil design. Students will experiment to find the best recipe for usable and lasting bioplastic utensils as a solution to NYC plastic pollution.
S & S Construction prides itself in creating a world where client needs and 3D innovation come together at every project. Our employees will be challenged not only to meet the design needs of each client but also to produce a scaled sample of the design executions. In our STEAM Workshop, we will be working to develop the skills of our participants with a 3D pen and the mathematics behind construction and architecture. In one hour, participants will be working through hands-on design challenges and constraints, optimizing floor space and minimizing costs. Through data-driven decision making, this workshop will allow students to become designers of inclusive spaces. Whether they decide to build with cardboard, in Tinkercad, or 3D pens, students will try to solve problems that matter to them and their communities.
Who says chemistry can’t be colorful, messy, and a little magical? In this STEAM-powered workshop, we bring together the logic of science and the flair of art to explore chemical reactions in a way that’s hands-on, eye-catching, and just plain fun.
We’ll kick things off with some fizzy art think baking soda and colored vinegar erupting into bubbly masterpieces while demonstrating what acid–base neutralization reactions are all about. Then, we’ll raid the fridge for red cabbage and turn it into a natural pH indicator. With our homemade veggie paint, we’ll create artworks that change color based on acidity, like mood rings, only more fun!
Next up: invisible ink! Using lemon juice and a heat gun, we’ll reveal hidden redox reaction drawings that appear as if by magic (but really, it’s chemistry doing its thing). To wrap it all up, we’ll dive into the world of polarity. With shaving cream food coloring, and a swirl of marbled prints we’ll show just how water and oil-like substances don’t mix but sure can create beautiful patterns.
This workshop is perfect for educators who want to mix creativity with content, and for anyone who believes learning science should come with a splash of color and a lot of curiosity.
In this hands-on STEAM workshop, educators will participate in a structured community project to build a mini smart composting bin using micro: bit technology and basic sensors to monitor temperature and moisture levels. Participants will explore the science behind composting, learn simple coding, and discover how IoT tools can make environmental science engaging and data driven. This session supports NGSS-aligned, project-based classroom learning.
During this workshop, participants will design and build a functional windmill with a greater electrical output than the standard model and that is more visually appealing. Participants will alter the windmill by designing new windmill blades. Participants will learn ways to reduce human impact on the environment, 3D design, aspects of the engineering and design process, and how to create interdisciplinary solutions to real-world problems.
In this Workshop, participants will explore the world of plastics by creating biodegradable plastics. As plastic waste and pollution increase worldwide, biodegradable plastics are a promising alternative. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of polymer chemistry, renewable resources, and how we are impacting our environment. No prior experience is required- just a curious mind, an explorative attitude, and creativity.
This hands-on STEAM workshop engages students in designing, programming, and prototyping a functional digital lock system using Micro Bit microcontrollers, breadboards, and logic gates. Students will apply computational thinking by creating custom logic tables and designing circuits that simulate real-world digital security systems. Through repetitive design and debugging, students will deepen their understanding of Boolean logic, and develop practical skills in physical computing and problem-solving. This project combines computer science, engineering design, and creativity, encouraging students to take ownership of their learning and “unlock” their own unique innovations.
In this workshop, participants will be creating an interactive mural using Bare Conductive. This mural will celebrate and acknowledge the impact oysters have on NYC ecology, while also identifying the diet and habitat needs of oysters. The mural will use pictures of silhouettes, conductive tape and LilyPads to light up different habitats and add sounds of marine animals to celebrate the essential ecological roles of oysters and the critical work of the Billion Oyster Project. Participants will learn how depeleted nyc marine life was prior to the BOP and the BOP’s goal of remediation of introducing this keystone species back into our ecosystem.
In this interactive, project-based workshop, participants will use their minds to craft and engineer a “real world” ecosystem using Minecraft Education and Code Builder. Working collaboratively in small groups, participants will simulate living systems by coding producers, consumers, and environmental factors to model real-world ecological relationships. Through loops, conditionals, and cause-effect simulations, participants will observe how biotic and abiotic components interact and what happens when variables like invasive species or resource depletion are introduced. The workshop emphasizes risk-taking, creativity, and systems thinking, while reinforcing science standards and core STEAM practices. Reflection and group dialogue will deepen understanding of ecological interdependence and showcase the power of coding to make science both visual and experiential. Participants will need to bring their laptops ensuring there is space on it to download mine craft education https://education.minecraft.net/en-us/get-started/download