STREAM & MakerPlace
Diné Kʼehgo Nitsáhákees dóó Óhooʼaah Hiináago Naʼnitin
Making thoughts and learning come alive, using Diné teachings — STEM braided with reading, the arts, and the four ways of thinking that have always guided our people.
Mission · Hooghan Hazʼą́ągi, Kʼé Biníkáágóneʼ, Óltaʼ Bee Hółdzil — empowering our community through family-based education.
Read our full STREAM story →The engineering process is the Diné thinking process.
Every project moves sunwise through the four directions. Each direction carries its color, its season of thought, and its part of STREAM — from establishing kinship to giving thanks for what was made.
Nitsáhákees
Thinking · reclaiming identity
We begin with kʼé — kinship. Students learn their clans and their ties to self, others, community, and the natural world. How does where and when we live shape who we are?
Nahatʼá
Planning · the ethics of Native science
Caring for the Earth, caring for the people, sharing with respect for all our relations — guided by the principles of Indigenous permaculture and natural systems.
Iiná
Living · making & engineering
Investigating, planning, building, testing. The engineering design process and scientific inquiry come alive through robots, drones, coding, and the MakerPlace.
Sihasin
Reflection & assurance
Students present and reflect — and earn first place at the Navajo Nation Science & Engineering Fair. The cycle closes in gratitude, ready to begin again.
Inside the MakerPlace
A makerspace defined by place, local context, and kʼé — a term coined by Dr. Ben Jones, founder of KARMA.
EZIE — Studying the Aurora
In partnership with NASA and Johns Hopkins APL, our students use EZIE-Mag magnetometer kits to measure the electrical currents behind the aurora — pairing modern science with Indigenous wisdom to help NASA picture our universe.
Image: NASA / Johns Hopkins APL · ezie.jhuapl.edu
“Dóliiʼ” Drones
Named for the bluebird, our drones are flown with controllers our students relabeled in Diné Bizaad — coding, flight, and language in one.
Robots & smart motors
Saad bóhooʼaah — learning the language of the machine. Students build and program with LEGO robotics and AI smart-motor kits, alongside Tufts University CEEO.
Connecting with land and community
Mapping our communities, charting the sun along the horizon, and studying land formations to prepare for NASA's Artemis — astronomy nights at Lowell Observatory.
First place at the Navajo Nation SEF
Our students earned first place at the Navajo Nation Science & Engineering Fair — researching renewable energy and water filtration in both Navajo and English.
KARMA — Rural Manufacturing Alliance
The Keʼyah Advanced Rural Manufacturing Alliance brings culturally relevant K–12 STEM to Navajo Nation classrooms, bridging engineering with Diné singing, storytelling, and language — and, since 2021, advancing playful engineering-based learning with Tufts University’s CEEO.
LITTLE SINGER COMMUNITY SCHOOL
