These examples will give a vivid picture of the types of STEM and
STEM learning innovation that took place across the three project
sites:
• “Trash to Paradise”, a project of the San Diego incubator and
developed by a bi-national US/Mexico team, is a novel
ecosystem that uses trash from the Tijuana River and wetland
plants to treat water locally in response to untreated sewage
flowing from the Tijuana River Valley into Imperial Beach. The
team is currently testing hydraulics for their prototype, an
artificial wetland in San Pablo, Tijuana.
• “Foodweb”, a project of the Chicago Incubator, is a virtual
network connecting food producers, distributors and
consumers with the goal of distributing information regarding
availability of and access to fresh foods. Its aim is to increase
the distribution of unprocessed foods, with a focus initially on
fruits and vegetables, to underserved low-income communities.
The team is currently developing a fully functional automated
technology platform.
• “Smart Healthcare Transit”, a project of the Worcester
Incubator, is a new interface that improves the ability of
patients reliant on public transportation to access healthcare by
allowing service providers to optimize patient transportation
efficiency when scheduling appointments, and providing
patients with clear, easily accessible routing and timing
information. The team was recently funded to create integrate a
working prototype into the scheduling system of a major
regional healthcare provider in Central Massachusetts.
Still to come later this year are the findings of ground-breaking
experimental research studies that measured the impact of the
AOSL arts-based learning curriculum on the creativity skills,
collaborative behaviors and innovation outputs of high school
students and early career STEM professionals; and Innovation at
the Intersection, a traveling exhibition, designed and built at the
Reuben H Fleet Science Center in San Diego, which will give
visitors of all ages the opportunity to experience to join us at the
creative intersection of art, STEM, innovation and community and
experience how together, art and science can help innovate
solutions to tackle difficult challenges, local and global.
Innovation at the Intersection will launch its national tour on
October 10, 2015.
The 28 Art of Science Learning innovation teams provide vibrant
case studies of ways in which arts-based learning can spark
STEM innovation. Resear ch data from our experimental studies,
along with data tracking the outcomes of the incubator innovation
teams, will provide us with new insight into ways in which artsbased learning can foster the development of foundational
innovation skills needed for a 21st Century STEM workforce.
Harvey Seifter, one of the world’s leading authorities on
organizational creativity and arts-based learning, is Director of The
Art of Science Learning, a National Science Foundation-funded
initiative that uses the arts to spark innovation in science and
technology. A Fellow of the Royal Society for Art and a member of the
Banff Leadership Center International Advisory Board, Harvey participated in the White
House Global Cultural Initiative and has been honored as a Peter Drucker Foundation
Thought Leader. He currently serves as Visiting Associate Professor of Design Management
at Pratt Institute’s Graduate School of Art.
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