In May, the Upper School hosted the second annual STEAM Showcase. Students shared projects ranging from vertical gardens and wearable tech to custom-coded video games and robotic builds. With hands-on projects spanning disciplines, the event highlighted how creativity and real-world problem-solving power Shipley’s growing STEAM program.

 

In her third year as STEAM department chair, Dr. Roberta Brandão empowers students to take creative risks, think critically, and solve real-world problems through hands-on, interdisciplinary learning, and a human-centered design (HCD) approach. “Our STEAM Showcase is a big piece of our commitment to help our students reflect and learn on their HCD learning experience, and we couldn’t be more proud of the creative risks and the high-level problem solving our students were able to tackle this past year,” reflected Dr. Brandão.

 

In the Makerspace, students from the Engineering Design course pitched their products in a competition to win an award for being the bravest, most risk-taking, and innovative team. Their projects ranged from clean energy solutions to community-focused design improvements.

In a student-run video game tournament, custom-coded games built entirely from scratch showcased technical skill and creativity. Students applied coding logic, graphics design, and user experience principles. Four team members earned national recognition through the Carnegie Mellon Creative Task Challenge (see page 22).

 

Students in these interdisciplinary classes explored the intersections of storytelling, design, and technology. Projects included motion-sensitive dog collars, handmade sustainable paper, and data-driven digital art.
A vertical garden offered fresh herbs and greens while promoting sustainability and innovation.

 

Robotics students demonstrated Arduino-powered inventions, breadboard wiring, and real-time robotic movement. Their builds ranged from line-following bots to sensor-driven devices.

 

From 3D-printed trophies to edible sculptures, students used design software and fabrication tools to create imaginative, tangible products—including crowd-favorite chocolate molds.