“The STEAM Center provides a direct way to invest in the next generation of engineers, healthcare professionals, digital creators, entrepreneurs and skilled trades leaders.”
— Dr. Robin McDurham, Transformation Waco CEO
The future is here, and it’s right at your doorstep.
The new Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center dedicated in January offers a mind-boggling array of classes, programs and open use under the umbrella of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math enrichment. From robotics and computer labs to a teaching kitchen, an immersive simulation lab, recording studio and creative art and building spaces, it offers something for everyone “K to gray,” as its stakeholders like to say.
Oh, and it has a million-dollar playground with a 30-foot rocket and an electronic feature called “The Orbit” that’s the first in the country, according to Mayor Pro Tem Andrea Barefield.
It was Barefield’s vision as a newly elected Waco City Council member for District 1 some eight years ago that launched the dream of reimagining and retrofitting the former Doris Miller Community Center into a STEAM Center that’s a model for both cutting-edge technology and community collaboration.
The project marks creative, collaborative processes that spread agency of facility ownership, funding, programming and curriculum among stakeholders who include the city of Waco, nonprofits, school districts, post-secondary educational institutions and businesses.
“We haven’t yet found anybody that’s doing quite what we’re doing here in Waco at the Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center,” said center Executive Director Lindsey Helton. “There are a lot of different organizations doing some really amazing work, but none quite like this.”
Imagining the Dream
Barefield had taken her older son to The Hip Hop Architecture® camp held in Dallas whose location, the Best Buy Tech Center at the Juanita Craft Recreation Center, featured high-tech equipment that included 3D printing, coding and drones. She knew that the Doris Miller facility was up for renovation, the last community center in the city to be overhauled.
“I realized, ‘Yes, we could do a renovation, but we could go even further and turn [our facility] into something transformational,’” said Barefield.
She approached the mayor and city manager at the time and they committed to looking into what it would entail.
“When Councilmember Barefield first brought the idea to the city, I was assistant city manager but it wasn’t one of my projects,” said Deidra Emerson, who now serves as deputy city manager. “The idea had kind of hit a standstill and was reassigned to me.”
Barefield and Emerson soon became a dynamic duo aggressively gathering information and input on STEAM education. They traveled the country, querying educators, nonprofits, city governments and businesses on what they had or wished they had, what did and didn’t work and how much it cost — then brought it back to Waco city government and community focus groups to determine what would work locally.
“For the STEAM Center to come to life, we had to have a location for it,” said Emerson. “It was only because [the city] bought the old YMCA building on the former Paul Quinn campus that we were able to have a space for it because we were able to change the community center’s location.”
Which put the reimagined facility right in the middle of Waco on the banks of the Brazos, on the footprint of the old community center.
“Access is a huge thing,” said Barefield. “There are technological education programs all around but people can’t afford them, or there are transportation hindrances. So how do we get educational advancement to the people? We bring it to them.”
Building the Team
The city of Waco owned the building and land and had committed to fund the Center’s $1.5 million operating budget under its Library and Cultural Enrichment Department and the leadership of department director Roberto Zapata.
But there was still the question of who would coordinate programming that ranged from robotics and coding skills, 3D printers and a computer-aided Cricut® vinyl cutter to cooking, sewing and gardening — among a plethora of other skills not widely available in mainstream schools.
Transformation Waco had a proven track record with school readiness programs, wraparound services and afterschool and summer programs. The city initially asked the nonprofit to research and make program recommendations for the STEAM Center; it ultimately contracted with them to operate the Center and provide programming for the next three years.
Zapata oversees the city’s management contract with Transformation Waco and serves as the main point of coordination across city departments.
“The Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center is about expanding opportunity for everyone,” he said. “From young students to adults exploring new skills, it gives our community a place to experiment, create and engage with the technologies and ideas shaping the future.”
Transformation Waco CEO Dr. Robin McDurham — former Waco City Council member and mayor — along with Chief Communications and Development Officer Josh Wucher, spent the better part of the next year meeting with potential external partners.
“Transformation Waco exists to expand opportunities for students and families by cultivating innovative and safe spaces for learning,” said McDurham. “The STEAM Center creates a powerful new access point for exactly that work.”
Helton — an educator and administrator with Waco ISD for the past 17 years — and Outreach Director Emily Schmillen were hired by Transformation Waco last July, six months ahead of the building’s projected opening. They immediately started developing and piloting curriculum, conducting community outreach and interviewing a staff candidate pool of unicorns.
“I was looking for people with a wide variety of experiences who were really enthusiastic about STEAM education and who were willing to learn,” said Helton. “I said, ‘We’re going to throw a lot of unfamiliar technology at you, so you’ve got to be OK with learning new things. If that sounds good to you, let’s go!”
Those parameters produced a uniquely qualified staff of 13 (all employed by Transformation Waco) “who are tremendously passionate about the work we do,” said Helton. Staff teach and supervise most of the Center’s activities; some classes and workshops have outside expert instructors.
Forging Partnerships and Finding Sponsors
With the city of Waco owning and funding the facility and Transformation Waco contracted to operate it and provide STEAM programming, the search was on to develop partnerships to widen the think tank and resource pool.
According to Wucher, founding supporters provided in-kind donations or access to funds or services in the project development phase. They include SpaceX, Cisco, Amazon Prime Air, Discovery Education, Baylor University, the City of Waco and Congressman Pete Sessions.
Partners (there’s overlap with sponsors in some cases) provided products or services for the launch phase and include AARP, AgriLife-McLennan County (Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Services), Baylor School of Engineering and Computer Science, Creative Waco, the Mayborn Museum, Electrolit, Texas Music Cafe, BLACCENT, Mission Waco Urban REAP, Girl Scouts of Central Texas, Waco Libraries, Waco Parks and Recreation and all three Waco Chambers of Commerce.
Local educational institutions including public schools, Baylor University (BU), McLennan Community College (MCC) and Texas State Technical College (TSTC) have partnered with the STEAM Center to help design programs that align with educational needs such as TEKS and workforce/college readiness. Several workshops at the STEAM Center are led by professors from BU, MCC and TSTC.
In the operational phase since opening, sponsors and grants are being actively solicited to provide specific programming. Helton said she is now “continually” working to line up potential grants and meet with potential business sponsors who align their skills goals with STEAM education.
“The STEAM Center provides a direct way to invest in the next generation of engineers, healthcare professionals, digital creators, entrepreneurs and skilled trades leaders,” said McDurham. “Business sponsorships help provide scholarships and discounted programming for qualifying families, ensuring that cost is never a barrier to hands-on learning.”
Finding the Funding
According to Zapata, the city allocated $13.8 million in grants and donations, with $1 million in capital improvement programs (CIP) funding, to renovate the 14,000-square-foot building, overseen by Mazanec Construction. Funds were provided by the American Rescue Plan Act funds, corporate donations and educational licensing, with a special federal appropriation, a Community Project Funding Grant (CFP), facilitated by Congressman Pete Sessions.
The Center’s annual operating budget of $1.5 million is funded by the City of Waco. Future additional revenue may be realized through sponsorships and facility rental for businesses and events such as birthday parties.
Making it Reality
The Center’s facilty includes:
• A Robotics Lab for hands-on exploration of robotics, coding and engineering projects.
• A Computer Lab and printers open for walk-in public use as well as classes.
• A Gaming Lab with 10 PCs that focuses on esports (electronic games); not just playing them but creating them.
• An Immersive Lab with a fully digital, projection-based learning space that surrounds participants with interactive visuals, sound and motion.
• A Teaching Kitchen for cooking classes and workshops.
• A Tech Makerspace with that includes 3D printers, laser cutters, sublimation printers and sewing machines for hands-on learning.
• A Messy Makerspace providing mixed media materials to make creative projects.
• A Recording Studio for music production, podcasting and media creation.
• Multipurpose Classrooms for educational programs and community discussions.
• A Demonstration Space that provides a flexible venue for workshops, performances and exhibitions.
Reaching the Community
“This center ticks off a lot of boxes,” said Emerson. “There’s a health and wellness component. There’s a workforce development component. There’s a cultural component. It meets our city’s strategic goals and it’s a gathering space for the whole community.”
Helton noted that the Center is trying to bring in as many different groups into the STEAM Center as possible. One example is working with the Waco Housing Authority to transport students from Transformation Waco’s after-school academies in low-income apartment communities to the Center.
“Access to STEAM education is important for everybody — that is where our future is,” she said.
School field trips from neighboring districts will be a programming staple, and Helton hopes that resources will eventually be sufficient to fund community outreach taking programs and demonstrations to schools and community events.
The Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center offers a wealth activities for the here and now: You can work in the raised garden, 3D print, wood burn, cook or sew. You can record an album or create a podcast, or work with robotics and drones.
But it also serves as a working model for the future.
“Who knows what businesses will be started as a result of this center?” said Barefield. “I hope the Bledsoe Miller STEAM Center serves as a model to replicate around the world.”
Helton agrees on the Center’s critical role in the community’s future.
“Many kids sitting in elementary classrooms today will have jobs that don’t exist yet, so how do we prepare them for that?” she said. “Reading, math and science and social studies are all important, but encouraging creativity, problem-solving and the ability to ask questions are also critical. The STEAM Center makes it easy for us to embed those skills in everything that we do.”
Said Barefield, “This is a place where dreams really can be imagined and come true. If you can think it, it can happen.”
Fun Factoids
The million-dollar playground is an inclusive space-themed playscape for all abilities designed by commercial playground equipment manufacturer KOMPAN.
Murals at the Center feature “augmented reality.” A QR code next to each leads to an app that when you point your phone camera at the mural, it comes alive with imagery and sound. The murals were created in collaboration with Creative Waco, who serves as the Center’s arts agency.
A Dragon cargo space capsule that flew into space three times, donated by SpaceX, is a centerpiece exhibit in the Center.
The Center’s namesakes are native Wacoans Doris Miller and Jules Bledsoe. Miller, a mess attendant, was the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross for carrying wounded to safety and bringing down at least one enemy plane at Pearl Harbor. Bledsoe was one of the first Black performers to achieve international acclaim in opera and concert performance.
Entrance, Membership and Fellowships
All classes, camps, workshops and special programs — many of them free — are available for individual registration. There is also free time in the various labs during scheduled hours.
Annual memberships provide year-round access along with benefits such as early registration for camps and a 10% discount on workshops, classes and space rental for special events, plus complimentary tickets to select paid events.
An individual membership is $60 a year; a family membership is $120 a year for up to four household members. A “STEAM for All” membership is available for $35 a year for the entire household for those participating in SNAP/EBT, WIC, Medicaid, CHIP or TANF.
The Student Fellows program provides a paid leadership opportunity for students age 15 or older, who receive $10 an hour for six-month terms during the academic year in after-school and weekend programming, helping young children in areas such as game design, cooking science and maker activities. Additional daytime hours may be available in the summer.
The Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center is located at 300 N. MLK Boulevard on the banks of the Brazos River. Entrance is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
For more information on the Center and its programs, check out wacosteamcenter.org or call 254-795-0231.
Open Lab Time, Classes and Workshops
The STEAM Center offers a huge selection of hands-on classes, open lab time and workshops for ages 3 and up, many free and others for a fee. This is just a sampling; check the STEAM Center calendar at wacosteamcenter.org for dates, times, more programs and their descriptions, along with fee if applicable.
*Note: Classes and schedules are subject to change.
Free Weekly Open Sessions for Ages 3-6
(walk-in; children must be accompanied by an adult)
• Little Lego Builders
• STEAM Playhouse
• Imagination Lab
• Discovery Tales
Free Weekly Open Exploration
(walk-in open labs with no instruction; young children must be accompanied by an adult)
• Open Exploration: Messy Makerspace (preschool to middle school)
• Open Build: Flex Classroom (preschool to elementary)
• Digital and Esports Exploration (grade 3 to adult)
• Open Robotics Coding (elementary to adult)
Free Workshops
• Smart $ense presented by Extraco Banks (18+, held monthly)
• Better at Last monthly wellness workshop (18+)
Especially for 55+ (free)
• Walk-in Senior Tech Hour
• AARP Senior Planet workshops
• Wisdom and Wonder science workshops
One-Time Workshops with Fee
Fees due in person at the time of the course
• Adult Makerspace Series: Pet Project Lab, April 18, $30
• Beginners Sewing Workshop (elementary), April 25, $40
• Sourdough Basics Workshop, (18+), April 28, $10, (free to 55+)
• Mom & Me floral arrangement class with GG’s Flower Hut (pairs of mom and elementary-age child or older), May 2, $55/pair
• Mothers’ Day necklace workshop (all ages), May 4, 7, $25
