STEAM Curricula

Duquesne has engaged in STEAM learning since 2016 when we designed our first maker space. As a result of the engagement and learning we have seen when our students are thoughtfully engaged in academics, STEAM has continued to expand throughout the last several years. Currently, we have several maker spaces across the building and have additional opportunities coming to engage our students across content areas with STEAM as a focus.

Maker Spaces at Duquesne

We currently have 5 maker space rooms. Creation Station is for K-2 and is designed to engage students in play through exploration in the areas of art, math, science, engineering, and technology. The Boiler Room is a maker space for grade 3-6 and engages students in these grades in maker education and digital fabrication. All grade levels have access to a coding and robotics lab called The Cab Lab. Some of the items that students have access to in this space are Virtual Reality sets, drones, Lego Wedo, Little Bits, and Snap Circuits. The Elementary Library was transformed into a Media Center offering students the opportunity to engage in research and video production using our green screen. 7th and 8th grade students have their own maker space through collaboration with The Cal Ripken Sr. foundation. Students learn coding and robotics through various digital tools and curricula.

We are one of the few school districts in Allegheny County to offer an eSports Arena, which is available for our middle school students. The Arena, which was launched on August 25, 2022, allows students to compete with other school districts through a variety of video games in the XBOX eSports league. eSports is also offered to our students as an elective, so that all students have the opportunity to explore eSports, while also learning about coding and math. Read more about our eSports Arena here and here.

During the 20-21 school year, Duquesne partnered with students in the North Allegheny area for First Lego League. Students met on Saturdays and completed a series of challenges by programming a Lego robot. This year, we are looking to expand participation in the Lego League as we continue our work with North Allegheny.