STEM vs. STEAM

[gerthworm]

To me, it's a question of how the label is used.

There are certain skills (math/science related) which are useful for understanding the world around us. Since understanding things is generally good, these skills are considered valuable. There are many ways to acquire and express these skills. To simplify referring to these skills as a whole, the "STEM" category name could be used.

Many people have found useful ways to combine artistic expressions of themselves and their world with technology, which requires science and math principles. Awesome! Now we have some skills which could be categorized under "STEAM".

All of these individual things are good because they have some underlying beneficial quality, not because they fall into some category (STEAM/STEM/etc).

Unfortunately, some folks use the category name as a fancy buzzword to get attention (and funding). This can become confusing and frustrating because the category is not sufficient to understand the underlying intentions.

Does FRC teach and inspire STEAM-related skills? Arguably yes.
Is FRC a STEM or STEAM organization? Depends who you ask.
Does FRC use technology, arts, and science to inspire innovation and teach skills which are applicable to all careers? For sure! And this is the reason why it's a worthwhile endeavor, not because it could be labeled as "STEAM".