The integration of Home Economics with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) education often underscores the relevance of practical life skills within a scientific and technological framework. Home Economics traditionally focuses on essential practical daily life skills such as food preparation, budgeting, and home management from a sustainability viewpoint. Combined with the STEAM approach, these areas expand to incorporating principles of natural science and mathematics, using technological tools, applying engineering processes and artistic creativity. In our view, interdisciplinary connection prepares students to address real-world challenges with a holistic perspective and fosters their broader sustainability thinking. To reach these aims, our STEAMkitchen project focuses on the qualities and creation of the makerspace. Therefore, we ask a) How to define makerspace in the context of the project? b) What new insights and practical outcomes can our definition provide to the STEAM approach?

A wide variety of settings are eligible for STEAM, including traditional classrooms, makerspaces, and informal learning environments. STEAMkitchen-project supports the integration of STEAM and home economics by transforming any learning environment, including a school's kitchen, into a food-oriented makerspace for STEAM hands-on learning by integrating creative and innovative face-to-face, digital and sustainability learning activities. In STEAMkitchen project, we consider each place a makerspace (e.g. classroom, kitchen or the woods) where artefacts or experiences can be created. While labs usually focus on more natural scientific approaches, in our project, various settings can serve as both makerspace or lab. Although there are certain differences, there are also overlaps, especially in terms of creativity, experimentation, and the use of specialized tools. In our view, a kitchen can be both a makerspace and a lab, depending on how it is used and the nature of the learning activities taking place within it. A kitchen can serve as a lab, particularly in the context of food science, as many cooking processes involve chemical and physical reactions. The equipment needed can vary from complicated technology such as 3D printers to print food or cookie cutters to simple paper and pencil, or it can include cleaning materials, pots or chemicals to analyze ingredients.

The STEAMkitchen project supports teachers through a hands-on approach, providing activities and resources that merge theoretical and practical aspects of Home Economics and STEAM. They can incorporate learning activities, co-designed within the STEAMkitchen project, into their lessons, either independently or in collaboration with colleagues from different subject areas. Learning activities include for example kitchen experiments, the use of novel technology, or creative projects that give students a deeper understanding of sustainable practices. In conclusion, creating interactive learning environments is key, and essentially, any learning environment such as a kitchen can function as a well-equipped makerspace where practical skills and the STEAM approach converge.

Keywords: STEAM education, Home Economics, Makerspace, Interdisciplinary learning.