Integration of Art and Engineering: Creating Connections between Engineering Curricula and an Art Museum's Collection

Abstract

Within STEM education, a movement called STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) is gathering momentum. Yet, while articles abound with ideas for incorporating STEAM concepts into K-12 classrooms, the literature on STEAM education at the university level is scant. Complicating matters is the fact that the "A" in STEAM does not always stand for "Art"; for example, in one recent ASEE paper that contains the words "STEAM curricula" in its title, the "A" stands for "Agriculture" [1]. However, reflections on STEAM at the university level can be found in a few papers presented at the 2013 ASEE convention. One, "Faculty reflections on a STEAM-inspired interdisciplinary studio course," offers insights on the opportunities and drawbacks of STEAM as it is currently understood (i.e., inserting the arts into the STEM curriculum as a way to make students more creative [2]. Another, "Turning STEM into STEAM," discusses the role of images in scientific communication and argues that "teaching the foundational concepts of Art, with disciplinary rigor and engineering context, would help improve critical and creative thinking, guide and encourage innovative engineering and visual art; fostering more effective direct and conceptual communication of scientific ideas and advancements" [3]. The thesis of this paper is that an art museum and its collection can function as a central location, both physically and conceptually, for STEAM on a college campus. The paper's authors-a mechanical engineering professor, a liberal arts professor, and an art museum director-bring truly multidisciplinary perspectives to the STEAM challenge of coherently integrating art and engineering education. The paper describes a unique relationship that has developed between one university's engineering curricula and the collection of an art museum on its campus. The paper presents a longitudinal study of engineering students at this institution who engaged with art as part of their curriculum at both the freshman and junior levels. Among our findings: • Students liked the flexibility and freedom, the self-guided discovery that using art as a starting point afforded. No students were put off by the art.