Do your kids love to know how things work, build things, create projects and learn new facts?
Well, KiddoSTEAM Academy may be the place for them.
The science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) based academy run by Teresa Peña and Luciano Cabrera, has officially opened a facility in Squamish after months of being a camp-only experience.
Now with a permanent base to call home, KiddoSTEAM plans to host after-school programs and holiday camps that teach a variety of skills, including coding, robotics, art, design and chemistry.
“In the summer of 2023, we started looking for a place. That was a big quest to find a real place here in Squamish,” Peña told The Squamish Chief.
“So in March this year, we started with a pilot at Skyridge Montessori for one week as a spring camp. It was a great start because we realized there is the need here for STEAM programs and there are kids that really want it.”
After a six-month delay, KiddoSTEAM officially opened their facility at the beginning of December at Unit 105, 39668 Government Rd.
“We are here now, and we are preparing programs for full-day camps, spring and summer camps, after-school programs, and we are also going to do Spanish classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday for adults and kids,” Peña said.
What is KiddoSTEAM?
The learning programs and camps are based on STEAM subjects.
“Because we are both engineers, we try to find subjects that they can relate to in day-to-day life, so they will know why things happen,” Cabrera said.
“It is also about exploration. Here, they can discover early in life what they are passionate about, and even if it's none of the subjects we're teaching, they'll know that maybe these fields aren't for them at an earlier age … which can also be helpful for parents to know too.”
A regular day at one of the sessions focuses on some theory before jumping into hands-on experiments.
According to Cabrera, the experiments allow for the kids to really see how things work.
“One example [of a project] is in the art category; we use paint, but the kids create the paint,” he said.
“They first create the paint, learn how to combine the colours, and what are the chemicals behind it, then after they can paint with it.
“It is simple, but you can hear the kids talk with their parents after showing that not only did they create this beautiful painting, but also the paint too.”
The kids also learn about chemistry by cooking.
“We made cookies, and the kids could see what would happen if we used certain ingredients. Because this is a chemical reaction, they learned chemistry through cookies,” Peña said.
Throughout the facility, there are a number of different tools and props for kids to experiment with.
At one table is a project where the kids move a robot mouse around a series of obstacles by implementing coding directly into the mouse.
Another is an electricity tool which shows how to make a closed circuit to turn on a small lightbulb.
“We see here with the kids, some are in the flow for two hours, three hours … when they find something they are passionate about,” Cabrera said.
But it’s not just about learning; both Peña and Cabrera are firm believers that playtime is just as important as theory.
There are a number of play zones throughout the facility, and during the holiday camps, the KiddoSTEAM team will take the kids to playgrounds to help burn off some of that never-ending kid energy.
How to get involved
As of January 2025, after-school programs will officially launch at the KiddoSTEAM Academy for children aged five to 12.
“We will do after-school pickups and then we are here until 6 p.m. every day with a different subject each day,”Peña said.
“Monday will be about science, Tuesday is technology, Wednesday is engineering, Thursday is art, and Friday is maths.”
Kids will be split into different age groups to help foster continued education.
Fees for the after-school program start at a daily rate of $37.50.
A two-week spring camp is also lined up in March 2025 and costs $400 per week.
As they both hail from Venezuela, Peña and Cabrera have decided to also host Spanish lessons at KiddoSTEAM for both kids and adults.
Adult classes are on Wednesday evenings at 6:15 p.m., and children's classes are on Tuesday evenings at 6:15 p.m. and Saturday afternoons at 12:15 p.m. Classes are $125 per month.
For more information on the after-school learning programs and holiday camps, visit the KiddoSTEAM Academy website.
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