Celebrating the 10th Annual STEAM Youth & Community Conference
The Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education and the Engineering Exchange for Social Justice celebrate 10 Years of collaborating with the community to engage learners in free STEAM workshops
Over the weekend, The Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education and the Engineering Exchange for Social Justice hosted their 10th annual STEAM Youth & Community Conference – a full-day of free hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) activities for youth, families, educators, and life-long learners in both English and Spanish.
More than 830 learners of all ages experienced hands-on STEAM innovation firsthand, from building and programming robots and exploring AI and assistive technology, to running environmental engineering challenges, and examining healthy and diseased human organs, alongside vibrant arts and cultural experiences including African Drumming, mathematics through paper folding and sewing.
The STEAM Youth and Community Conference is a collaboration between different groups on campus and community partners, organized by the Engineering Exchange for Social Justice at the Shiley Marcos School of Engineering, the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education at the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, Young Echelon, and the University of California, Riverside School of Education, with collaborators from all around San Diego.
“This is a coming together of the community to engage families, children and educators in STEAM activities and fun,” said Perla Myers. “We also think it's important to make the event free so everyone feels comfortable coming and having a wonderful day of engagement and fun with STEAM – we love having this celebration together,” she added.
For the past decade, the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education and the Engineering Exchange for Social Justice have been integral pillars in the community for providing free, accessible pathways for more young people to dive into STEAM. More importantly, these programs encourage youth to recognize that they already are artists, scientists, mathematicians, engineers today, helping them carry that innovative mindset with them into a STEM career or into any profession they choose to pursue in the future.
Since the STEAM Youth and Community Conference began in 2016, more than 4,500 people of all ages have participated – even leading some students to eventually pursue a degree in STEAM, including at the University of San Diego.
“You don’t have to know STEAM to be a part of it,” said Kelsi Dantu, USD Alumna and Young Echelon San Diego volunteer. “I think this conference, in general, breeds curiosity which is important for kids to have,” Dantu added.
The conference concluded with a closing session featuring Mexican biologist and origami artist, Cekouat Leon, and child neurologist and Ms. Black California USA 2026, Dr. Aliya Frederick, as well as the launch of the 2027 Jacobs Teen Innovation Challenge.
Along with the STEAM Youth and Community Conference, approximately 100 kids attended the Visuospatial Mathematical Opportunities Summer Adventure, a two-week program with The Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education, as part of San Diego Unified School District's Enhanced Learning Opportunities at Linda Vista Elementary and Nipaquay Elementary. Through paper engineering and origami, students explored mathematics, strengthened visuospatial reasoning, built confidence, nurtured their creativity, and discovered the joy of problem solving.