This project is a curriculum focused on STEAM education, mindfulness skills, and self advocacy. It allows young students to transform their space at home or at school into a supportive salutogenic environment no matter their income level. Sensitive to accessibility and flexible with requirements, this kit is useful in any learning environment. The package includes curricula for direct instruction and a self guided book for students, both of which lead children through STEM concepts and the process of transforming their spaces through art. Managing stress is an important part of early childhood development, and addressing this issue is increasingly vital under the COVID-19 pandemic. Salutogenesis is an approach to design that supports health and wellbeing through stress prevention strategies as opposed to traditional design processes driven by diagnostic health measures. Antonovsky maintains that salutogenesis promotes overall wellbeing by creating environments that naturally reduce stress. Urban planners and architects often engage in a form of salutogenesis called biophilic design aimed at making people’s spaces more organic. Students living in disadvantaged communities have little access to such nature-inspired spaces, and even less access as a result of the pandemic. As the pandemic increased stressors in underserved homes, this project supports and encourages recovery and reflective thought. The next steps are testing the implementation of curriculum writing and the guidebook for continued evidence based development process. Evidence based practices in design are informed through user testing and stakeholder engagement. For the initial phase of this project, samples of the lesson plans and guide book were shown to a local Montessouri school. They agreed to pilot the project when it was completed, which will be another phase of evidence collection. Current research questions include: How do students understand STEAM concepts through making? And How does transforming the space facilitate student engagement?
