Empowered and Engaged in Chile: A Look at the Impact of Playful STEAM Learning in Vulnerable Communities

Good things happen when LEGO^® Education partners join forces with non-profits and local schools. Students at Sun’s School at Pudahuel in Santiago, Chile felt that impact first hand when authorized LEGO Education reseller, Arquimed partnered with Good Neighbors, a non-profit committed to promoting change and creating opportunities for sustainable development in communities and empowering children. Together they designed and launched a pilot robotics workshop using LEGO Education SPIKE^® Prime to address issues of inequity and accessibility of innovative learning experiences, while also fostering 21st Century skills like programming, engineering, and design thinking.

Launched during the Covid-19 Pandemic, the program was designed with a hybrid approach making it easy to adapt for working with students both in-person and remotely. This pilot is the first step for the implementation of a three year initiative that will benefit 240 5th to 8th grade students from 16 schools with high rates of vulnerability in the communes of Valparaíso, Hualañé, El Carmen, Pudahuel and Cerro Navia. If the pilot program is any indication, the initiative should be a huge success in inspiring students all over the region to pursue studies and careers in STEAM fields. But we’ll let the first group speak for themselves…