STEAM Lab at The Pearl
Where curiosity becomes care
The K-12 STEAM Lab at The Pearl connects science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics with questions that matter to people’s lives. Through sustained partnerships and hands-on experiences, young people investigate health challenges, create and test ideas and discover how their interests can contribute to healthier communities.
Why STEAM Lab
Real questions. Meaningful possibilities.
How could a helmet better protect a young athlete? What might make an everyday task easier for someone with limited mobility? How can the arts help us understand another person’s experience?
At the STEAM Lab, questions like these bring learning to life. Students connect with educators, artists, clinicians, researchers and industry partners across our region to investigate challenges, imagine possibilities and develop ideas.
Through experiences that build over time, learners strengthen their confidence, creativity and ability to work with others. They discover how their interests and ideas can help address real challenges and explore possibilities in education, careers and community life. We call these pathways to purpose: helping learners imagine what comes next and connect with opportunities to pursue it.
Our philosophy
This is how we do it
Learning begins with a question about someone’s life. Students investigate the need, imagine possible solutions and build, test and revise their ideas with real people and real-world constraints in mind.
Health + human experience
Explore how bodies, minds and communities experience health — and how thoughtful design can respond to people's needs.
Technology + engineering
Investigate how tools such as robotics, artificial intelligence and medical technologies work, who they serve and how they could improve.
Arts + expression
Use art, storytelling, music and design to explore perspectives, communicate ideas and imagine new possibilities.
Making + testing
Turn ideas into models and prototypes. Test what works, learn from feedback and revise with purpose.
How curiosity becomes care
Identify the need.
Listen, observe and ask questions to understand the problem and the people affected.
Invent possible solutions.
Connect ideas, explore alternatives and build and test prototypes.
Implement thoughtfully.
Consider how an idea could work in everyday life, including access, constraints, risks and trade-offs.
Throughout the process, students ask: Who could this help? Whose perspective is missing? What could we improve?
What we offer
One hub. Many ways to learn.
Our core programs grow through sustained partnerships. Students return to build relationships, deepen their questions and develop ideas over time. Teacher learning, hospital-based experiences and community events extend that work into different settings and invite more people to participate.
Middle-school partnerships
Recurring experiences give students time to build relationships, deepen their questions and develop ideas across multiple sessions.
High-school innovation pathways
Focused partnerships, including Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology and the Cabarrus County Schools microschool, connect deeper learning with health innovation, technology, mentorship and future possibilities.
Teacher Innovation Ambassadors
Professional learning and collaboration help educators bring new ideas, relationships and approaches back to their classrooms.
Hospital-based and inclusive STEAM
Adapted experiences support creativity, connection and meaningful participation for learners with varied abilities and circumstances, including young people learning in our children's hospital.
Community engagement
Festivals, workshops and partner experiences invite families and communities to explore, create and learn together.
Does the STEAM Lab offer one-time visits?
Our primary focus is ongoing learning through school and community partnerships. On a limited basis, we may accommodate one-time educational visits on select Mondays only, subject to program fit and availability. All visits must be requested in advance and confirmed by our team. To inquire, please use our contact form.
Looking for camps, academic programs, innovation district visits or health career exploration? Our team may be able to suggest relevant resources.
Curiosity
Ask, notice and investigate.
Care
Attend to people and context.
Courage
Try, revise and contribute.
Community
Learn and make together.
The people behind the lab
Meet the STEAM Lab team
Our team brings together educational leadership, program coordination and student facilitation to connect meaningful learning with the people and possibilities of The Pearl.
Dr. Richard Cox, Jr.
Ph.D., M.Ed., M.A.
Director, Districts Education & Innovation Partnerships
An educator and former classroom teacher, Dr. Cox leads the educational vision, learning model and partnerships connecting young people with The Pearl and Innovation Quarter. His work brings schools, communities and innovation partners together to expand access, belonging and pathways to purpose.
Damien Kingsberry
M.Ed.
Senior STEAM Coordinator · Operations and Logistics
A former middle school teacher and STEM coach, Damien coordinates day-to-day STEAM Lab operations and program logistics, helping align schedules, materials, partners and experiences so learning runs smoothly.
Jalavender Clowney
STEM Educator
STEAM Coordinator · Student and Community Experience
Jalavender facilitates student and community learning experiences, helping learners ask questions, explore ideas and build confidence through hands-on STEAM investigations. She brings experience as a middle school STEM educator and science department chair.
Our Innovation Fellows
A cohort of eight Innovation Fellows extends the team’s reach across operations, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, AI, data and the arts — including roles with partners like TractBio and Blumenthal Arts. Five fellows are on board today, with three positions forthcoming.
Innovation Fellow · Operations
Innovation Fellow · Operations
Innovation Fellow · Operations
Innovation Fellow · Biotechnology
Innovation Fellow · Biomedical Engineering
Innovation Fellow · AI & Data
STEAM Intern · Blumenthal Arts
Teaching Artist in Residence
We want young people to know that their questions matter, their ideas have value and they can contribute to the world around them. When students connect what interests them with what matters to others, curiosity becomes care.Dr. Richard Cox, Jr. Director, Districts Education & Innovation Partnerships
Opening soon
A new home for curiosity, creativity and care
The STEAM Lab at The Pearl is preparing to open a purpose-built home for collaborative learning, creative exploration and hands-on investigation. The space will bring students, educators and partners together to ask meaningful questions and develop ideas across health, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
The Lab is our hub. Learning extends into schools, hospitals and communities.
Mark your calendar
Upcoming STEAM events
Explore opportunities for students, families and community members to connect with STEAM learning at The Pearl.
STEAMfest at The Pearl
The lab's signature festival returns — a full campus of hands-on science, robotics, health demos, music tech and more for the whole family.
STEAM Lab Grand Opening
Celebrate the opening of the new lab — step inside, meet the team and try a station or two. Details coming as the new space opens.
iQ STEAMfest
Our sister innovation district in Winston-Salem hosts its own festival of hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Details coming soon.
Lumbee Tribe Students Envision Future Healthcare Careers at The Pearl
As a longtime educator and leader with the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Rita Locklear knew that she wanted a hands-on, science-focused experience for the group…
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STEMulating Young Minds Fuels Her Passion for Teaching
People of The Pearl meets STEM educator Jalavender Clowney When educator Jalavender Clowney first visited The Pearl in summer 2024, she wore a hard hat and safety vest as the steel and concrete structure was still being…
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Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Fest turns gears to shape future careers
STEM Lab connects students with real-world STEM experiences, opening doors to careers they never imagined. Triniti Dismon was captivated walking into STEM Fest. The 12th-grader’s interest…
Read the story →Scenes from the lab
Curiosity in action
Snapshots from school partnerships and programs at The Pearl — captions show what learners were investigating and creating.
Get involved
Help curiosity become care.
Schools, educators and community and industry partners help make this work possible. Connect with our team to explore sustained learning partnerships, educator opportunities or ways to contribute your expertise.