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

This year’s virtual 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.

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.