Since 2016, the ExCITe Center (Expressive and Creative Interaction Technologies) has hosted an educational summer camp for Philadelphian elementary and middle schoolers. Originally titled Summer STEAM, the six-week program is now titled Young Dragons and infuses science, technology, art and design, and mathematics into dynamic, engaging, and developmental experiences for young students in our area. Students in Young Dragons study technology and science through the lens of visual and performance arts and athletics, while incorporating literacy and enrichment programs from Drexel University's Lindy Center for Civic Engagement.
Young Dragons is a partnership between The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation, the ExCITe Center, and the Lindy Center for Civic Engagement. The camp is available to students in the following local schools: Alain Lock Elementary, Morton McMichael School, Martha Washington Elementary, and the Science Leadership Academy.
This year, the Young Dragons have worked on topics such as Athletics and Technology, Sneaker Engineering (which included a field trip to the Fabric Workshop and Museum for hands-on textile arts experimentation through looms and screen printing), Visual Arts and Virtual Reality, STEAM and Space, Music Technology, and Sports Science.
"We believe that by integrating and celebrating the creativity that's inherent in both the arts and the sciences is a much more profound way to learn," said Dr. Youngmoo Kim, professor in Drexel's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and Director of the ExCITe Center, at his recent TEDxPhiladelphia lecture. "The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation...does such great work in education in sports programming and social justice. Together, we've established the Young Dragons program. In this program, we break down the artificial walls between disciplines and instead off hands-on, relevant arts-integrated STEAM learning activities."