  STEP (the SMC in Time: Evolution of a Prototype interacting late-type dwarf
galaxy) is a Guaranteed Time Observation survey being performed at the VST (the
ESO VLT Survey Telescope). STEP will image an area of 74 deg$^2$ covering the
main body of the Small Magellanic Cloud (32 deg$^2$), the Bridge that connects
it to the Large Magellanic Cloud (30 deg$^2$) and a small part of the
Magellanic Stream (2 deg$^2$). Our $g,r,i,H_{\alpha}$ photometry is able to
resolve individual stars down to magnitudes well below the main-sequence
turnoff of the oldest populations. In this first paper we describe the
observing strategy, the photometric techniques, and the upcoming data products
of the survey. We also present preliminary results for the first two fields for
which data acquisition is completed, including some detailed analysis of the
two stellar clusters IC\,1624 and NGC\,419.
