SMArtSummer, (Science, Math & Art Summer) is a 6-week summer outreach and enrichment program designed to enhance the interests and capabilities of elementary through high school students. It offers a dynamic and rewarding instructional experience in a space where students can find their passions while teachers can practice and innovate. [The program will soon be available as a guide for other interested parties]

Since its origin as CabSummer in 2010, SMArtSummer has been putting its sustainable business model into action every summer at the Cab Calloway School of the Arts. Teachers, artists, and local institutions collaborate to create a safe and transformative educational environment for interest driven learning where everyone benefits. Teachers are paid real world wages. High school students can volunteer and get teaching experience. Artists are welcomed as instructors and guests. And most importantly, students are given the opportunity to pursue subjects they are personally drawn to as they build their own schedule from a catalog of over 60 arts and STEM-based classes. 

Offerings from past summers include musical theater, digital photography, the science of sound and 3D design, aerodynamics, electronics, game design, spatial reasoning, architecture, recording and audio engineering, forensics, fashion, and Bhangra/Hip Hop Dance. Many of the classes combine several areas of focus, such as in “Digital Flip Books,” where students create short animated stories out of digital photos, illustration, and audio, while also learning about the fundamentals of story telling and the science of color, light, sound and vision. 

Students find that these multidisciplinary classes help them learn in exciting and unexpected ways. They see that color photography greatly enhances electron microscopy, or that the art of the story telling teaches useful communication skills. A combination of lenses often creates a fuller picture for students than what they would have been able to see through just one. 

When perspectives, community members, and students come together, something beautiful and transformative is born. We are excited to share this incredible program to help communities everywhere access and create an environment for lifelong learning!