Full STEAM ahead for new collaboration
Sphere and Discovery Children’s Museum are holding a first-of-its-kind educational event Aug. 9-10. “Sphere Weekend” will feature a variety of hands-on activities related to the entertainment venue’s cutting edge technology.
“We want to encourage youth, encourage Nevada youth to go into STEAM related fields, STEAM related professions,” said Rich Constable, the Sphere’s executive vice president, global head of government affairs and social impact. “Things like Sphere Weekend, we hope will awaken them to professions they weren’t even contemplating.”
The activities, including making your own Orbi (the official name of the emoji-like character sometimes seen on the exosphere), robot building and digital animation design are included with the price of museum admission.
“This is perfect because there are takeaways for each child, each person in the family where an activity can be a bit more challenging for them,” said Chris Lucas, the museum’s science and nature manager. “However, if that’s not their cup of tea, we have a bunch of other activities they can explore, as well as other programs on the museum floor.”
Sphere officials said the company will donate $125,000 to the museum to support its youth education programs over the next five years.
“At the museum, we love to explore technology, art, different facets of education,” Lucas said. “We thought this partnership was absolutely perfect because of both of the immersion you can find in the spaces. We really want to inspire our Nevadan children, our Nevadan families to make art, to become the next engineers. To become the next mathematicians. We really believe in our Nevada.”
The event runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit discoverykidslv.org.