STLinSTL 2024

Education needs to reflect on its purpose. Why do we educate? We can all agree, delivering content is a zero-sum game - with schools rewarded by improving test scores but with students inevitably becoming disillusioned and disinterested in a life of learning. Our real purpose must be to catalyze thinkers, thinkers who are curious, who imagine, thinkers who creatively engage. Art can be a surprising catalyst for developing new thinking, from ah-ha moments triggered by seeing something new to experimental material play that leads to new connections and intrinsic collaboration. Creativity is ultimately about accessing our imagination, building tolerance for ambiguity, and humanity’s innate need to connect - to ideas and one another. Learn how experiments in informal learning environments have shifted the educational purpose dramatically.