Work in progress - Engineering the magic school creativity and innovation in context

We review the past three years of our experience and results from the Villanova PIVOTS Science & Theatre Magic Program, a 3-week academic summer program where students and faculty work with teams of teenagers to apply scientific principles in the creation and staging of a "School of Magic" - a fantastic day-long adventure that they then share with younger, underprivileged children. The teens act as guides/teachers (and powerful role models), and deliver science-inspired "magic lessons." Hundreds of younger children, many from economically impoverished urban neighborhoods, have visited the magic school that the teenagers created. The foundations of the program rest on a novel combination of features, each of demonstrated pedagogic value and critical to the preparation of a globalization-ready science and engineering workforce: 1) Integration of STEM with theatre and creative arts; 2) Service learning; and 3) Multidisciplinary exploration with a clear design focus. A partnership between academia, industry, government, non-profit organizations, and K-20 educators was created through this initiative, enabling the program to evolve and embrace complementary goals for diverse populations of students and faculty, entailing new challenges and opportunities.