Seminars 1 and 3 end with our STEAM Festival (Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS and Mathematics). At this event, Seminar 1 students exhibit their work in a gallery style. At the same time, students in Seminar 3 (Science Forward, our sophomore seminar) present scientific posters—visual representations of their scientific research. Students traditionally work in groups, and the result is typically the culminating project for the seminar.

The STEAM Festival gives students in the two seminars a chance explore the work that they are doing, with the opportunity to share their work publicly, and may even mark the beginning of a lifelong calling! The event fosters community across Macaulay campuses—which are eight campuses located throughout the five boroughs of New York City—and encourages the development of intellectual and social relationships throughout the student body.

What to Expect

If you are getting ready to attend your first STEAM Fest, you should know that you will come with your group to one session and present your project in an informal and celebratory setting. Talk to your group to decide which session best fits your schedule, and who your sign up representative will be. Enter one registration per group.

At the STEAM Fest, you will have a display area in the Macaulay building. Your group should prepare a brief (1-2 minute) and informal overview of your work to share at the start of your session. Each room will have a facilitator that will help get this activity started and keep it going. You will also have a chance to talk to each other about your process and experience of making the project. After the initial discussion, you will have a chance to circulate, view other work, and have more talks with your Macaulay colleagues.

Why STEAM and not STEM?

Macaulay has organized common events for each seminar since the inception of the college in 2001. Recently, this organization was modified in order to draw out the connections, relationships, and crosscurrents among the arts and sciences. Many people recognize the acronym STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, but fewer recognize STEAM, which adds an A to the acronym for the Arts. In addition to the intellectual possibilities that a crossover event between seminars 1 and 3 offers, the STEAM common event permits students in year two to reflect about their previous year in seminar 1, and gives first year students a chance to look at projects that they themselves will work towards in the upcoming year.