The acronym STEAM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics got an additional letter added on Wednesday, with the opening of a new skilled trades focused interactive exhibit.

That STTEAM has been brought to the Telus Spark Science Centre (TSSC), with the opening of a new exhibit and programming space called BLUprint on July 31, with the goal of introducing youth to various skilled trades like carpentry and plumbing, and how those industries are intertwined with science itself.

Speaking about the BLUprint, TSSC CEO Roderick Tate used the example of how the flow of water, the conductivity of different elements, and even the geometries found in Calgary’s Peace Bridge all reflect upon and make up the skills required for tradespeople.

“All of these are demonstrations of the many different types of science connections that are required in the skilled trades. And it really demonstrates that they’re not only just important jobs, but vibrant careers centred in STEAM,” he said.

“We have an opportunity to inspire future generations of skilled trade workers through hands on experiences and learning done only the way that Spark can do it.”

Phase one of BLUprint, which was officially opened on Wednesday after a soft opening on July 11, allows youth to experience hands on the use of tools and different materials used by various trades, and to learn directly from centre staff.

Children under eight have the opportunity to hone their fine motor skills in the Little Builders Zone, older children and youth can build their own creations in the carpentry zone, and on Mondays through Thursdays there will be what the centre calls epic team builds in the Big Builds Zone.

The centre also plans on hosting roaming carts with plumbing and electrician focused activities as part of BLUprint.

Phase two, which is set to open in December, will bring the exhibit indoors and expand the use of technologies like virtual reality to help engage visitors in trade based educational opportunities.

Programming to run through to end of 2025 at least

Tate said that funding would allow for the programming to run until at least the end of 2025, with the potential of the exhibit to evolve over time in future years dependent on future funding.

BLUprint was funded in part by the Government of Alberta to the amount of $900,000, and by $100,000 from the Calgary Construction Association’s (CCA) Education Fund—the largest single donation made by the fund in the CCA’s history.

Bill Black, CEO of the CCA, said that the decision to invest into BLUprint came about as a result of wanting to be good stewards with the funding provided by association members—and picking the right project to have the right kind of impact.

“This is going to be an incredibly important thing, and a lot of good will come out of it.”

Getting young people to consider the trades, said Black, was important given the average age of a journeyman in Calgary was 60.

“Over the next five to 10 years going to see a significant amount of retirement from the industry. And you do not replace 40 years of experience in an industry immediately with fresh intake, so this is a long term investment.”

Yet, he said, there was likely to be immediate and positive impacts from getting youth interested through BLUprint on some of the biggest projects Calgary has embarked upon in decades, like the Calgary Event Centre and the Green Line.

“The reality is these projects are probably five year projects in total duration. There are high school kids now, and there are junior high kids right now who will graduate in time to enter the industry as a labourer and apprentice, and actually work on these projects within a five year timeframe.”

“A 16 year old could end up actually spending time on these projects. And so it does have a shorter term impact, and because there are folks maybe thinking about this industry, when they see government making investment and industry making investment… the kids will respond. It might be a motivator that nudges them over the line to show them that this is worth doing.”

Minister of Advanced Education Rajan Sawhney, said that the Government of Alberta has had many conversations about how to reach young Albertans about possible careers in trades, and that the investment into BLUprint was part of that.

“Certainly the minister of education, that’s part of his mandate as well to find those opportunities. So there are going to be some potential budget allocations, but we have heard time and time again from communities and our stakeholders and the construction industry, that you really do have to start talking about these opportunities earlier.”

“This is one place where kids can get that opportunity, but we know that it’s going to be a multi pronged approach. There is significant work being done already, but we recognize that that message isn’t getting quite to where it needs to be, so there’s going to be more work allocated to this.”

For more details on BLUprint, including schedules of daily activities, see www.sparkscience.ca/for-kids/blueprint.