Minds in Motion: How STEAM Fuels Mental Wellness in Children

In a world of constant stimulation and digital overload, children need more than screen-free time, they need purpose-driven play, emotional connections, and opportunities to build confidence through creativity. That’s where STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) helps to create a pathway not just to learning, but to healing, emotional growth, belonging, and shared discovery. STEAM-base play is not just as a learning framework, it is a powerful tool for mental health and community connection.

Children today are navigating rising levels of anxiety, loneliness, and emotional disconnection. STEAM-based play isn’t just about learning, it’s the opportunity to belong, to be seen, and to thrive in a space that values every child’s perspective. Through hands-on exploration, creative expression, and shared discovery, STEAM-based play becomes a bridge from isolation to inclusion.

When kids engage in STEAM, they’re not just learning facts. They’re learning how to express themselves, solve problems, and navigate challenges with curiosity and confidence. Shared discovery invites children to see the world through each other’s eyes, transforming curiosity into empathy and often planting the first seeds of friendship. These shared experiences foster emotional growth and help children feel part of something larger than themselves.

At Full STEAM Ahead, STEAM-based activities help support mental and emotional growth and wellness, by:

• Emotional regulation: Art and design elements offer safe, nonverbal outlets for feelings.

• Confidence building: Completing a project - whether designing a circuit or learning an instrument - instills pride and self-worth.

• Collaborative learning: Group projects nurture empathy, teamwork, and shared purpose.

• Mindful focus: Screen-free tasks like coding or experimenting help promote concentration and reduce digital fatigue.

Full STEAM Ahead (FSA) is helping to redefine what mental health support through play can look like. By integrating mobile maker spaces, sensory-friendly design, culturally rooted storytelling, and joyful activities like digging for dinosaur bones or learning about historical role models, FSA creates inclusive environments where every child feels seen, celebrated, and capable. Whether children are designing iridescent pictures that glow in the dark room or adding their names and dreams to the vibrant welcome wall, they’re not just participating, they are being embraced. The message is clear: creativity heals, STEAM empowers, and working together transforms isolation into belonging.

Mental health isn’t a separate conversation, it’s embedded in how we teach, design, and engage. It must be nurtured with the same care we give to literacy and learning, because emotional well-being is not a luxury or an afterthought, mental health is foundational to every child’s development, sense of belonging, and lifelong resilience.

In a world increasingly marked by fragmentation and disconnection and where screens often replace shared experiences and home routines feel scattered, children need intentional spaces that restore connection, foster emotional growth, and remind them that they are part of something bigger. Programs like Full STEAM Ahead and the future Grand Forks Children’s Museum are answering that call, creating environments where creativity, collaboration, and community are not just encouraged—they’re essential.

When the Grand Forks Children’s Museum opens its doors, it will become a permanent anchor for this vision. Designed with hospitality, sensory inclusion, and regional storytelling at its core, the museum will offer:

• Interactive exhibits rooted in STEAM-based play and local heritage,

• Spaces that celebrate every child’s identity and imagination,

• Programs that extend the reach of Full STEAM Ahead year-round and throughout our region.

Together, FSA and the museum will create a continuum of care, where mental wellness, creativity, and community are woven into every experience.

Mental health support does not always look like therapy. Sometimes, it looks like a child watching their artwork glow in a dark room, or hearing their name spoken with pride at a welcome wall or the pride of creating a dinosaur out of blue blocks. It looks like shared laughter, messy experiments, and the quiet confidence of knowing: ‘I’m not alone.’

Let’s keep building spaces where children feel connected, celebrated, and empowered in mind, body, and spirit.

Katie Mayer, Executive Director, Grand Forks Children's Museum