Science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics all came together Wednesday at STEAMFest at Housatonic Community College.

Housatonic professor and event organizer Janet Yarrow says art is just as important as math and the sciences.

"With STEAM, we include the art department and as you can see when you walk in, we have a lot of art on the wall with the theme of green," she said. "So the art department is included among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."

Instructor Kyle Pepin says students of all disciplines can benefit from learning about the arts and humanities.

"By incorporating a lot of art, or the 'A' in 'STEAM' into this event and into engineering and design, you can make a product look very aesthetically pleasing and more likely to sell and be successful," he said.

But ask any educator and they will tell you that it's not just about adding a letter, but about transforming the traditional way of thinking to create innovative solutions -- like an edible garden -- to today's problems.

Monique Bosch helped launch the edible campus project at Housatonic. She says that the No. 1 problem today is that we've lost the ability to grow our own food.

"It skipped a generation and we need to bring that back, and this is going to do it," she said. "We're going to be teaching people how to grow your own food by doing it."

"Going Green" was the theme for the third annual celebration. Attendees were treated to live displays of 3D printing, an organic garden, virtual reality, a panel on cannabis education, and more.