Shared Science

SHARED SCIENCE WAS ESTABLISHED AS A NONPROFIT IN 2009 FOR THE EDUCATIONAL AND CHARITABLE PURPOSE OF CREATING AND DELIVERING STEM LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN (K-12). WE INTERVENE ON A LOCAL LEVEL, FOCUSING ON THE LONG BEACH METRO AREA AND 65,500 LBUSD STUDENTS. OUR IN-SCHOOL AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS ARE AT OVER 30 AREA SITES: BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF LB, BIXBY, CARVER, DANA BRANCH LBPL, EDISON, EMERSON, HENRY, KETTERING, LONGFELLOW, LOS CERRITOS, LOWELL, MANN, NEWCOMB, SALVATION ARMY, SATO, ST. HEDWIG, ST. JOSEPH, STEVENSON, WEBSTER, YOUNG HORIZONS, AND MOREDURING FY2022-23 WE SERVED OVER 3100 PARTICIPANTS AND GRANTED 1000+ SCHOLARSHIPS. THE EARLIER STUDENTS ARE INTRODUCED TO THE LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS, IN A FUN AND CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT, THE MORE LIKELY THEIR COMFORT WITH THESE TOPICS AS THEY BECOME MORE COMPLEX. OUR PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO CONTINUE A LIFELONG PURSUIT THAT UTILIZES THEIR STEM EDUCATION. WE KEEP SESSION FEES LOW AND OFFER SCHOLARSHIPS SO THAT OUR PROGRAMS ARE ACCESSIBLE. AS A NONPROFIT, WE BRING TOGETHER FUNDING AND EQUIPMENT RESOURCES, IDENTIFY GIFTED ENGINEERS AND INSTRUCTORS, TAILOR THE BEST CURRICULUM AVAILABLE, AND THEN BUNDLE IT ALL TOGETHER TO BENEFIT AND CAPTIVATE THE IMAGINATIONS OF YOUNG STUDENTS. OUR MISSION IS TO BUILD ON CHILDRENS SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS LEARNING EXPERIENCES THROUGH CONSTRUCTIVE, CREATIVE, AND PLAYFUL PROGRAMS, WHILE FOSTERING LEARNING COMMUNITIES.SHARED SCIENCE PROVIDED IN-SCHOOL STEM LAB PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS AT TWO SITES: PATRICK HENRY ELEMENTARY AND EMERSON PARKSIDE ACADEMYCONTINUED COLLABORATIONS WITH BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF LONG BEACH, SALVATION ARMY, LBUSD WRAPDEVELOPED ALL NEW HANDS-ON CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES FOR IN-SCHOOL K-5 STEM EDINCREASED OUTREACH VIA SOCIAL MEDIADELIVERED ROBO-TECH FESTIVAL 2023 AND HANDS-ON TECH GIRLS WORKSHOP 2023PARTICIPATED IN COMMUNITY-WIDE FUND AND FRIEND-RAISING CAMPAIGN, LONG BEACH GIVES FOR THE 5TH YEARPROGRAMS WE OFFERED: EARLY ENGINEERING STUDENTS (K-5) BUILD AND TEST LEGO SIMPLE MACHINE MODELS, FOCUSING ON HOW WORK IS ACCOMPLISHED. CREATIVE COMPUTING STUDENTS (2-8) LEARN COMPUTER PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS WHILE BUILDING SIMPLE GAMES AND ANIMATIONS. MAKE-IT FUN! STUDENTS (1-5) LEARN BASIC CIRCUITRY DESIGN, MAKER TINKERING, AND HOW TO ADD THEIR OWN CREATIVE FLAIR TO THEIR BUILDS. EARLY ROBOTICS STUDENTS (2-5) USE THE LEGO WEDO, KUBO, AND OZOBOT PLATFORMS AND AN IPAD INTERFACE TO LEARN DRAG AND DROP CODING. RAD-ROBOTICS STUDENTS (4-8) USE THE LEGO EV3 MINDSTORMS ROBOTICS PLATFORMS. ELEMENTARY ROBOTICS PROGRAM SITE STUDENTS (4-5) LEARN/PREP ALONGSIDE THEIR TEACHERS TO COMPETE IN AN ANNUAL ROBOTICS SHOWCASE EVENT. FIRST LEGO LEAGUE EXPLORER TEAM MEMBERS (1-3) PARTICIPATE IN AN ANNUAL ROBOTICS SHOWCASE EVENT. FIRST LEGO LEAGUE CHALLENGE TEAM MEMBERS (4-8) COMPETE IN AN ANNUAL REGIONAL ROBOTICS COMPETITION. FIRST ROBOTICS COMPETITION TEAM MEMBERS (9-12) BUILD A HUMAN-SIZED ROBOT TO COMPETE IN AN ANNUAL REGIONAL ROBOTICS COMPETITION. GOVERNANCE: SHARED SCIENCE BELIEVES THAT ALL STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THAT HELP THEM EXPLORE THEIR INTEREST IN ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MATHEMATICS, AND THE ARTS. TOWARDS THAT VISION, WE HAVE AN ACTIVE, WORKING BOARD THAT BOLSTERS OUR PART-TIME STAFF. IN OUR CURRENT FORMATION, EACH BOARD MEMBER BRINGS UNIQUE SKILLS AND CONNECTIONS TO OUR ORGANIZATION, HELPING WITH INSTRUCTION, RAISING FUNDS, PARTICIPATING IN STEM ED ADVOCACY, AS WELL AS INTRODUCING POTENTIAL NEW COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS, AND STRATEGIC PLANNING. SOME BOARD MEMBERS ARE WORKING TEACHERS AND ENGINEERS, SOME ARE PROFESSIONALS IN THE NON-PROFIT WORLD. NORMALLY WE EMPLOY BETWEEN 15-20 PART-TIME STAFF MEMBERS FOR PROGRAM DELIVERY AND OUTREACH. IN RESPONSE TO AVAILABLE WORK HOURS AND EASING OF PANDEMIC RESPONSE RESTRICTIONS, WE ARE REBUILDING OUR STAFFING CAPACITY. WE ARE CONTINUING WITH REGULAR STAFF AND BOARD MEETINGS VIA ZOOM. THIS ENSURES OUR STAFF STAYS ENGAGED AND IN TUNE WITH THE ORGANIZATION AND ITS NEEDS.