Step into a FutureMakers workshop, and you are immediately met with bright colors, texture, and sound! The room is a symphony of whirring and spinning, and you can almost hear the busy minds buzzing. This is exactly the scene in the art room when FutureMakers coaches Topher and Ross taught a series of workshops at Gardenville Elementary recently.

Thanks to programs like the Access for All Initiative and Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) Artist in Residence (AiR) grant, more and more schools are able to bring the high-quality STEAM programming that FutureMakers provides into their classrooms. “We’re so happy to see so many schools leveraging resources from the Maryland State Arts Council,” FutureMakers founder Matt Barinholtz told us. “In 2017, we served nearly 1000 Maryland students through AiR programs – all who were able to increase their understanding of the engineering design process, circuits and visual arts elements by creating artworks that are designed and built to move!”

The goal of each workshop was for every student to create a drawing machine: a small, unique, motorized tripod that doodles and draws as it swirls and whirls across a flat surface. But it would be a mistake to assume that the finished product that students carry away is the only benefit to the session. FutureMakers teaches kids that engineers cooperate and persevere—skills that will take students far.

Coach Topher raised his hand at the front of the classroom and asked, “Who here has ever made something before?” The kids were excited. Some of the materials they received to build their machines, they recognized. Some, they did not. All of them, they had to connect and make work.

Problem-solving and troubleshooting are easy to talk about. “It’s easy to say, ‘try your best,’ but in the moment, it’s the most frustrating thing.” Connecting batteries to motors and transforming them into pieces of art takes patience and skill. “Engineers fix stuff. Usually, they’re fixing stuff they mess up themselves!”

Though students all started on the same path, each robot took on its own distinct personality. Students directed the design of their bots, testing and retesting to see how design elements worked with the functionality of their machines. Through problem solving and teamwork, the young engineers found success.

“FutureMakers knows that integrating quality STEAM programs is essential – and requires support,” said Barinholtz. Funding is available for schools and community organizations that can help all children experience high-quality arts programs.

Bring FutureMakers into your school with the help of a Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) Arts in Education (AiE) grant. The MSAC AiE grant will fund up to 30% of the total cost of a YA residency program, including travel costs. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 19, 2017, by 5 pm. Start the application process today.