For many kids, science and math are viewed as little more than a series of drills, formulas and equations, rather than knowledge and skills that can have an impact on their future success. Until recently, Axel Meijia was one of those kids.

An eighth grader at Nativity School, Axel’s favorite subject has always been social studies. Science and math were always a challenge for him. Recently that has begun to change.

This year, thanks to the Doheny and Serving California Foundations, Nativity — as part of a STEM collaborative effort with Ascension and St. Columbkille schools — started its first-ever enhanced after school programming, incorporating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) with Arts programming, now christened “STEAM”. In addition to the school’s popular Guitar, Dance & Drama programs, they recently introduced Robotics and a Digital Media Arts program, utilizing their new iPads, to our science/tech programming.

Ever since the Ahmanson Foundation made it possible for Nativity to incorporate iPads into the school this year, it has been a dream of the principal and teachers to create a program that focuses on Digital Media Arts as a way to augment and enhance STEM programming. This program — in which students are taught the elements of storytelling, how to storyboard, shoot, edit and post a video, as well as how to integrate and use various facets of technology in a positive, appropriate manner — is the perfect intersection between arts, technology and science that allows the school to teach STEM principles in an engaging, hands-on manner, thus creating a “culture of STEM” that will encourage them to pursue these critical subjects further in high school and college. Indeed, in the three months since the program started, Nativity has already seen greater engagement of students in the program, who have learned and demonstrated leadership, organizational and problem-solving abilities, all while acquiring important 21st century tech skills.

Axel is one of those kids. “This is a great way to interact with technology,” he said recently while editing his latest video on iMovie. “It’s part of the future. I didn’t even know how to use a Mac until I started this program and now I’m good at it. I feel like I’m ready for high school.”

Axel and his DMA club members, under the supervision of a USC Film School student volunteer, have so far produced a short video for Archbishop Gomez that was broadcast on his radio and TV show recently as well as a humorous instructional video about how to properly care for the iPad cart. To see the video, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLawxwKuBk0

“I’ve seen Axel’s confidence and interest in science increase,” notes Edna Ramirez, Nativity’s science teacher and STEM advisor. “Exposing our students to these types of programs not only gets them excited the sciences but also plants the idea that they can pursue this in high school, college and beyond.”