Virtual STEAM Event

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

Educating young children about the environment and how the choices they make impact air quality is critical to achieving and maintaining lasting improvements. When we educate students about the importance of clean air, we empower them to help solve the air pollution problem in Maricopa County and become the next generation of environmental stewards. School STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) events have been an integral part of the Maricopa County Air Quality Department’s (MCAQD) education outreach program. Each year MCAQD staff attend school STEAM events to educate thousands of students and their families about simple actions everyone can take to help reduce air pollution and improve local air quality. In March 2020, public schools closed brick and mortar classrooms and moved students to online classes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health guidance restricted large in-person gatherings, including school and community events. To respond to this challenge, MCAQD education outreach staff partnered with 15 local organizations to reimagine the traditional school STEAM Event into a virtual experience.MCAQD launched the first Virtual STEAM Event in October 2020 and as of March 1, 2021, we have scheduled 21 events, reaching approximately 1,273 students and families.