The Berkshire Edge BUSINESS MONDAY: Spotlight on Flying Cloud Institute

The nonprofit is celebrating 40 years of inspiring young people and educators through dynamic science and art experiences.

By Robbi Hartt

With an ambitious strategic plan and 40 years of successful programming under its belt, Flying Cloud Institute (FCI) continues to inspire young people and educators and ignite creativity while increasing access to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) learning through school residencies, after-school MakerSpaces, S•M•Art Labs and Girls Science Clubs, and summer, winter, and spring break programs. Founded in 1984 by Jane and Larry Burke and David Schwartz, the unique “Science Meets Art” approach has developed into STEAM programming that serves roughly 2,500 youth and educators in five school districts across Berkshire County and Region One in Connecticut annually. (Click here for an in-depth exploration of Flying Cloud’s history.)

To celebrate this important milestone, Flying Cloud Institute (FCI) has planned a series of 40th-anniversary celebration events (sponsored by Webster Landscape, Elyse Harney Real Estate, Onyx Specialty Papers, and Warrior Trading). They include: A silkscreening evening at Bon Dimanche with owner and FCI alum Molly de St. Andre this spring; the Flying Cloud Institute Great Barrington Art Crawl featuring a youth art show at Bernay Art Gallery on August 20; the Alumni Weekend at the home of co-founders Jane and Larry Burke in late summer (date still TBD); and the STEAM Challenge Night at Hancock Shaker Village on October 16.