Robot Opera: A modularized afterschool program for STEAM education at local elementary school

Abstract

The importance of STEM education has consistently increased. Recently, it has been updated to “STEAM”, by adding art and design to the equation. To promote STEAM education using robots, we have devised the “Robot Opera” program at a local elementary school, by extending our earlier child-robot theater program. After introducing our pedagogical approach, we outline our ongoing program, composed of four modules: acting, dancing, sonifying, and drawing. We hope this work-in-progress paper can facilitate discussions on how to use robots in informal learning environments.