The S.T.E.A.M. Center at Saint Stephen’s Estimated Construction Cost: $10-12 million

Very early in its development, Saint Stephen’s had the vision to create strong science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics programs. This commitment was in place even before S.T.E.A.M. became a buzzworthy acronym, and it didn’t matter whether classes were held in a church, leaky portables, or a strip mall.

While decades of hard work and investment have certainly transformed the physical campus to provide proper classroom space, one thing that hasn’t changed is that steadfast focus on delivering outstanding academic programs for students. So what will the next 50 years look like at Saint Stephen’s? Will we continue to reach for and explore ways to advance our mission as we build on a well-earned reputation for innovation?

A commitment to funding infrastructure will go a long way toward answering those important questions, and the S.T.E.A.M. Center is a key component. It will drive a variety of existing programs to greater levels of excellence while also creating possibilities for the realization of new ones.

Steaming Into a New Era

A suitable gathering space for the entire Saint Stephen’s community has long been considered the missing piece of the puzzle to our master plan, and unlike any previous construction project, this multi-purpose facility has perhaps the greatest potential to transform campus life by inspiring creativity, collaboration, and innovation.

STEM activities occur daily in every grade level throughout campus. Students in the older grades learn the dynamics of computer languages, build and fly drones, design and 3D print interactive projects, engineer bridge models, and examine the impact of computers on society – their social implications and issues of security. Our youngest students use interactive games to discover basic coding principles, and all of our students learn proper digital citizenship.

The new S.T.E.A.M. Center will provide a home base for these activities that is easily accessible to faculty and students in every division, providing the next generation of computer scientists and engineers with cutting-edge resources and transformative spaces to learn, collaborate, problem-solve, and create. The building will house:

  • An academic maker space

  • Computer science, engineering and robotics design lab

  • Media production studio

  • State-of-the-art audio and video technology

  • Collaboration and presentation space

Putting the ‘A’ in S.T.E.A.M.

Saint Stephen’s has a long and colorful history when it comes to the arts. Since the founding of the school, however, a good deal of energy has centered around creating appropriate spaces for student performers to advance their craft. Whether it was transforming an acoustically challenging and uncomfortable gym into a working theater or converting classroom spaces into band venues and a playhouse, teachers, students, and volunteers have taken on the challenge with gusto. Instead of bemoaning deficiencies, it has always been a labor of love for those involved to create first-class art in makeshift surroundings. But the time has come for the hard work of the past to be rewarded.

With the performance area and backstage spaces of the S.T.E.A.M. Center, our Fine & Performing Arts program will become an instant beneficiary. The facility will establish a dedicated location for budding singers, actors, musicians, and dancers of all ages to develop and showcase their talents, with:

  • Seating for up to 600 people for auditorium-style events, and up to 400 for sit-down dinners

  • Moveable walls and stage to allow for different room configurations where multiple programs can be held simultaneously

  • Spacious foyer area that can be used for receptions, etc.

  • A kitchen area for catering prep

  • Backstage areas for props and costumes

  • Dressing rooms

What else will happen in the S.T.E.A.M. Center?
  • Academic competitions
  • Graduation ceremonies
  • Guest speaker series
  • Award dinner, dances
  • Extracurricular activities

A Community Resource

The S.T.E.A.M. Center will open the Saint Stephen’s campus to a wider audience. The facility will be available to businesses and community groups that are in need of space to host events. This partnership will expose Saint Stephen’s to a wide range of new constituents who have never had the opportunity to step behind our campus gates – creating relationships that could lead to new educational collaborations, potential candidates for admission, and generating an exciting new revenue source for the school.

Looking Back to Plot the Way Forward

How will the S.T.E.A.M. center ultimately impact the lives of Saint Stephen’s students and faculty? That’s an exciting story to be written one day at a time, but a look at the two most recent building projects on campus provides eye-opening evidence of how those facilities have enhanced student experiences.

The introduction of our Marine Science Center in 2016 created a global buzz that’s still generating benefits today. The center immediately attracted attention from organizers of the international Water Is Life student conference, and brought Saint Stephen’s an invitation to become the first U.S. site to host the event in June 2020. Saint Stephen’s is now an active member of the WIL Association and has a seat on the organization’s board of directors. Visibility for our program thanks to the existence of the Marine Science Center also created a student mini-boat research collaboration with Maurick College in The Netherlands, and the opportunity for a student to present her coral reef research at the 2018 WIL conference in Tokyo.

Our student-athletes took to the fields of the new Moore Athletic Complex in 2013 and, in the short time since, the Falcons have collected an unprecedented 55 district, 26 regional, and five state championships – including the school’s first titles in football and track and field. We launched boys and girls varsity lacrosse teams the same year the facility opened and they’ve quickly advanced from novice programs to five-time district champions. More students than ever before now participate in athletics (nearly 80% of all 6th through 12th graders), no doubt thanks in large part to the presence of one of the most dynamic school sports facilities in the state.