Harmony has been found this week among the diverse academic disciplines offered at UF.
The first STEAM Quest began Sunday and will continue through Friday, said Rachel Damiani, a co-coordinator for the event.
Focusing on science, technology, engineering, art and math, STEAM Quest gives high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to discover how creativity and exploration are important in any field of study, she said.
Damiani said there were only 24 spots available in the program, and there was a surplus of applicants. She said of the 24 students chosen, 23 are in attendance.
Abby Furman, a 16-year-old from Daytona Beach, said she has enjoyed doing activities in different colleges at UF and learning about how the arts play into each major. She said one activity that stuck out to her was examining preserved body parts at the College of Medicine.
“That was like, disgusting, but cool,” Furman said. “You can touch it, and it still moves and everything.”
Damiani said that because this is the first year of the program, they are seeing what aspects they like and don’t like.
“This group of students is really curious and excited to learn, so that makes things easier,” she said. “That makes all the difference I think.”
Logan Marconi, a co-coordinator for STEAM Quest, said activities such as learning how to make their own paint and discovering the scientific use of origami help students to discover the broader applications for art.
“I think the goal of the week is to educate students at an early level that these various disciplines are interconnected, and they’re not separate,” Marconi said. “Researchers and professors don’t work in separate silos, they actually rely on other disciplines to further their own fields.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 7/16/15]
