I have been working with the Long Beach Public Library's SEED Creativity Incubator designed to instill participants with concepts, tools, and skillsets they can apply throughout their school, home life, and future careers. This programming arose from STEM/STEAM, which teaches students scientific, technological, engineering, art, and mathematical skills to solve problems all while learning collaborative skills and understanding new concepts.
Students go through a 10 week training program where they learn theories and concepts pertaining to design thinking, collaboration, empathy, and ideation. They then participate in workshops led by guest educators from the community (like me!) and are able to apply their foundational skills on a variety of mediums and practices. Finally, their program culminates in a project-based experience that challenge students to ideate and create a prototype design for a real problem.
My workshop for the students was thinking about how they perceive themselves and what adjectives they would use to describe themselves, then coming up with an animal (either real or imaginary) that personifies these characteristics. I taught this workshop at various library branches around Long Beach, like Main, Mark Twain, and Harte. The students have been wonderful, creative, and inspiring and I have enjoyed coming up with the curriculum and seeing it executed through their creations.