Hundreds Gather at Free USD STEAM Youth and Community Event

A hands-on event designed to spark curiosity and creativity in young minds took place at the University of San Diego. This Saturday, over 500 San Diegans gathered in Linda Vista for USD's 9th Annual STEAM Youth & Community Conference, a free, family-friendly event open to the entire community.

The conference featured interactive workshops and activities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM), with sessions available in both English and Spanish. It was an opportunity for kids and families to explore innovation in a fun, engaging environment.

This event marks the culmination of two weeks of summer camps hosted by USD’s Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education. Throughout the camps, elementary school students engaged in creative and skill-building activities, such as podcasting, Minecraft, and paper folding, which helped develop critical thinking and socioemotional skills along the way.

The conference was co-hosted by the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education at USD’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences; the Engineering Exchange for Social Justice at USD’s Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering; Young Echelon; UC Riverside School of Education; USD’s College of Arts and Sciences; the San Diego Foundation; and the San Diego Unified School District.

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is among the Top 20 Best Private Schools for Making an Impact according to The Princeton Review. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.