Creative Dad Company creates hands-on STEAM projects, educational stories, and practical teaching ideas for the adults who make learning happen: afterschool staff, classroom teachers, homeschool parents, and youth-program leaders.
Everything here is grounded in one belief: kids learn best when they build something real, test it with real people, and get the chance to make it better.
Who runs this site
I’m Jason Padgett, an educational experience designer, curriculum developer, and youth-program leader based in Cleveland, Tennessee.
For more than seven years I’ve worked at the Boys & Girls Club, first as Teen Center Program Director, then as a unit director, and now as Director of the WorkForce Development Program. In those roles I have:
- Designed and led hands-on STEM, media-production, entrepreneurship, and career-readiness programs for young people
- Built YouthForce, a project-based workforce program that brings together years of STEM and career programming
- Led youth podcast and video production teams, including a project where teens planned, shot, and edited six videos on deadline
- Created paid internship experiences for teens
- Produced large immersive program events, including a three-year run of a program circus, a 10-foot abominable snowman that took first place in a local Christmas parade, and a game-show-style career night
- Presented nationally on work-based learning
My approach to youth development has earned Trailblazer recognition at both the organizational and regional levels.
I’m also a husband and a father of two. Being a dad is where the name comes from, and it’s a big part of why I care about this work.
What you’ll find here
Practical articles on the blog. Guides drawn from real youth programming: how to run low-prep STEAM in afterschool, how to plan for mixed-age groups, how to turn a STEM challenge into a story, and how to run events that teens actually show up for. Each one aims to be complete enough to use without buying anything.
Free activities. Complete, ready-to-run projects like Cardboard Carnival, with facilitator steps, questions, and a printable recording card.
Creative Dad Projects. A growing K–12 library of hands-on projects that combine STEM, art, storytelling, and career exploration. Each project can be run three ways (Quick Start, Full Experience, or Total Transformation) so it fits the time and materials you actually have.
Professor Pumpernickel. An original educational storyworld in development. It follows a young inventor investigating a mysterious force called the Hoobawhatsit, and it is designed so students become the agents who solve each mission.
Creative Dad Studio. A working prototype of a creative workspace for developing stories, worlds, and learning materials in one place.
How projects are made
Every project and article on this site starts with what works in a real room: limited prep time, a mixed group, and whatever is in the supply closet. Projects are written so that:
- The learning goal stays the same whether you have 35 minutes or a week
- Art is part of the design thinking, not just decoration at the end
- Students test their work with a real audience and improve it based on evidence
- An adult can understand and run it without special training
When an article refers to research or a book, I link to the source. When something is my own experience, I say so.
Advertising, affiliate links, and independence
This site may show ads and includes some Amazon affiliate links, and those are always labeled. Paid projects are coming soon. Everything here is free to browse for now. Recommendations are based on what I’ve used or would use with my own groups.
Get in touch
I read every message. Questions about a project, ideas for a post, or partnership inquiries are all welcome on the Contact page.