Meet the STEM Educators: Cal Cauthorn
Pronouns:
They/she
How long have you been working with The Works Museum?
About one year
What is your background in engineering?
Legos, miniatures, and DIY gardening.
What do you love most about working with kids?
Sparking creativity, insight, and wonder.
Can you share a fun or memorable moment from past summer camps?
The days when one or more campers practically stick to you and can't tell you enough what they are excited about at the camp, with life, and what they hope to do in the future; related to science and engineering or even something completely different.
What’s one thing you hope campers take away from their time at camp?
Firstly I want everyone to have a good time, if we're all having fun they're more likely to take something of value away from the experience; whether it's that kids can accomplish challenging things, make insights into their own creative capacities, or simply grow their awareness of the world around them.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I enjoy getting out in nature when I can, whether that's simply gardening or getting to do a hike or picnic out and about. I also enjoy playing tabletop role play games with friends, reading, and even some writing. My passions are currently engaged in learning about and building mutual aid networks—for the purpose of building and experiencing the kind society and the kind of world I wish to live in.
What’s a fun fact about you?
I've done some traveling; Mongolia and Guatemala have been my favorite places I've visited so far.
Why Myths & Mechanisms is Your Favorite Camp:
Myths & Mechanisms is a brand new camp that I’m really looking forward to launching this summer. This camp mixes Greek mythology with hands-on building and creative problem-solving. Campers will get to build mechanical creatures, learn how ancient inventors were inspired by nature, and even create their own working Archimedes screw—a tool that’s over 2,000 years old and still used today!
One of my favorite parts of teaching is watching kids’ faces light up when they have a “eureka!” moment. A connection we hope to make in this camp is that people have been inventing cool things for thousands of years. It’s exciting when young minds realize that the engineering design process that we use today isn't so different from how people engineered in the past.
I love how this camp brings together big ideas, creativity, and hands-on fun. Mythology has lasted for so long because of the fantastic stories, and when we use those stories to explore STEM, kids become more engaged and can see themselves as part of this ancient and inventive tradition.
