The origins

Panama STEM emerged in 2014, when after living the technological educational gap that existed between Panama and the countries of the first world, Lorena Degracia and Marvin Castillo decided to be part of the solution and be a spark of change at the national level. In December 2014, teacher Lorena Degracia began her educational path through her training and certification in educational robotics with LEGO® Education and the Learning of the Aprender Haciendo (Hands on learning) methodology. Then in January 2015 from a study room at her home, Teacher Lorena began an After School program for children’s in the neighborhood as well as from friends and acquaintances. In just a few days, the news about this new robotic initiative was viral and all the available seats were filled starting this adventure of teaching the future to hundreds of children who have gone through our programs. "The children would throw themselves on the floor crying when the parents came to look for them and they would tie themselves to Teacher Lorena's leg so they would not be taken away from classes", recalls Marvin Castillo adding, "I had never seen children who did not want to leave a school and that would cry because they are taken away from their school. " It was there, at that point that Lorena and Marvin decided to look for a place to open an extracurricular learning center, where the vision of Teacher Lorena was to open this innovative educational initiative, in Ciudad del Saber.