If your child is really interested in working in a STEM field some day, it’s a good idea for her to begin learning all she can about various fields before she enters college. Would she rather work in one of the life sciences or in computer science? Perhaps she’d prefer a career in astrophysics or engineering. One way she can begin to learn about a particular STEM field is by taking an online enrichment class related to that field. There are also numerous STEM summer camps and afterschool workshops available if she prefers hands-on learning. If she really wants to understand the day-in-day-out activities involved in a particular career, she should consider job shadowing—spending part of a workday with a person employed in the field she’d like to learn about. This chapter lists dozens of extracurricular STEM-based educational opportunities for young learners, including summer camps, afterschool classes, and online classes. In addition, the chapter offers some guidelines and suggestions to consider if you and your child would like to set up a STEM-related job-shadowing experience.
In every major city, as well as in many smaller communities, opportunities abound for kids to engage in STEM subjects outside the classroom. These enrichment opportunities take the form of afterschool classes, summer camps, winter break camps, and spring break camps. The following providers of STEM enrichment programs share some similarities, but each approaches its mission from a slightly different angle.
Mad Science is a Canadian-based franchise company that offers science-based summer camps, afterschool enrichment classes, in-school field trips, and birthday programs for kids from preschool through middle school. Mad Science operates in hundreds of locations throughout North America and around the world. Mad Science offers programs relating to nearly every area of science. The company’s programs include titles such as Science of Magic, Red Hot Robots, Fun Physics, Slime Time, Crazy Chemworks, Techno Safari, and Planet Rock!
There was a time when robots existed only in science fiction stories. Now robots are a part of everyday life. They’ve become especially important in some industries, such as heavy manufacturing. If not for the work of robotics engineers and technicians, robots would still only exist in sci-fi books and movies. Robotics engineers design and build robots, along with the systems that control the robots. To do their jobs, robotics engineers must acquire much of the same knowledge as mechanical engineers, along with programming knowledge. To work as a robotics engineer, a person typically needs a bachelor’s degree in robotics engineering or a related field. Robotics technicians help test robots during the design process, and operate and maintain robots after they’ve been installed. Most robotics technicians complete a two-year technical program before entering the field.
Bricks 4 Kidz is one of the many companies offering enrichment classes and summer camps for kids focusing on engineering, architecture, and robotics. Bricks 4 Kidz has franchises across North America and in numerous countries overseas. Bricks 4 Kidz utilizes kits from LEGO Education along with proprietary builds and other materials for its classes.
Engineering for Kids is another company that offers a suite of programs designed to introduce kids up to age fourteen to STEM-related subjects. With over 100 locations in the United States and several locations overseas, Engineering for Kids offers camps, afterschool classes, and birthday parties. Engineering for Kids’ afterschool and evening classes are focused on a specific discipline of engineering such as civil, electrical, or aerospace engineering.
All About Learning provides STEM-related enrichment classes and summer camps for kids from kindergarten through eighth grade utilizing LEGO Education kits and LEGO elements. Representative programs include Gears and Gadgets, FUN-gineering, Collision Cars, Video Game Making, and Journey Into Space.
For students in grades one to twelve, IMACS (the Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science) offers afterschool, weekend, and homeschool classes as well as a summer camp. Working solo and in teams, IMACS students learn how to think logically and creatively while having fun with games, puzzles, stories, and other engaging activities. The IMACS Hi-Tech Summer Camp program engages students with logic puzzles, computer programming, virtual robotics, and electronics. Advanced students entering grades nine to twelve may also enroll in IMACS’s university-level programs in mathematical logic and computer science.
Play-Well TEKnologies offers LEGO-inspired engineering classes, summer camps, and birthday party programs for kids from kindergarten through eighth grade. Play-Well TEKnologies’s classes and camps are available in over 2,000 locations nationwide.
California-based iD Tech is a provider of tech-based summer day camps and overnight camps for students ages six to seventeen. iD Tech’s camps are offered at some of the most prestigious college campuses in the country. The company’s camps cover topics such as programming, video game design, 3D modeling, robotics, and digital arts. In addition, iD Tech has a unique all-girls’ program in place for girls ages ten to fifteen called Alexa Café.
In addition to offering continuing studies classes for adults, Digital Media Academy (DMA) provides tech-based summer camps for young people ages six to eighteen. Based in several university campuses around the country, DMA’s youth camps cover such topics as programming and app development, robotics and engineering, 3D modeling and animation, filmmaking and visual effects, and game design and development.
A number of organizations offer STEM-related camps or classes on a regional basis. Emagination, Snapology, i2 Camp, and Ideaventions are just a few. Also, many community colleges offer STEM-related summer camps and spring break camps for elementary and high-school students.
A number of companies and organizations offer online STEM classes for kids. Some of the classes are targeted at homeschoolers and offer a complete science curriculum. Others are supplemental in nature. Online classes are especially good for kids interested in coding since coding isn’t taught in every school. Some of the options for online STEM classes are listed here.
Created by a former NASA scientist, Supercharged Science offers a complete online science program for homeschoolers. The program teaches science using a combination of videos, live teleclasses, reading, and exercises. It’s designed so that parents don’t have to know science themselves in order for their kids to participate. Supercharged Science offers curricula for grades one through twelve. Its services are available on a monthly subscription basis.
Time4Learning’s curriculum covers kindergarten to twelfth grade and is appropriate for homeschool, afterschool, and summer skill building. The sixth-grade through twelfth-grade curricula are correlated to state standards.
Real Science 4 Kids is a publication-based science program with some online classes available in the core subjects.
Youth Digital offers technology courses for kids ages eight to fourteen through a highly interactive learning platform. Youth Digital offers courses in Java coding, digital illustration, 3D animation, game design, and app design.
With people relying more on their smartphones all the time, mobile apps are more relevant than ever. Mobile app developers are essentially software developers who specialize in creating applications for mobile devices. Whether an app is produced for some practical purpose or for pure entertainment, someone has to dream up the app and then create the coding that makes the app a reality. A bachelor’s degree in computer science is excellent preparation for a career in mobile app development. Specialized training programs also exist that teach the programming skills necessary for app development. Many mobile app developers specialize in a particular platform (e.g., iOS or Android). Demand for mobile app developers is only expected to increase as demand for interesting new smartphone apps continues to rise across the globe.
Tynker offers programming education through interactive self-paced courses and game-based activities. In additional to grade-based curricula for schools, Tynker offers classes for individual students as well as instructor-led summer camps and afterschool clubs.
Homeschool Programming, Inc., founded by homeschooling parents, offers online programming courses for kids in fourth grade and up. Its kid track includes classes in beginning and advanced web design, as well as Windows programming and game programming. The company’s teen track features classes in Windows programming, game programming, and Java and Android programming.
Gamestar Mechanic offers game-based classes and quests that teach users how to create their own video games. The site also allows users to publish their games and join an online community of game designers.
Quick Study Labs offers electronics classes for kids ages eight and up. In addition to electronics, the company offers online courses in robotics and green technology.
Online classes aren’t the only resources available on the Internet for learning about STEM subjects. Other web-based tools exist that offer kids the opportunity to learn coding, build websites, create animations, and discover other intriguing applications. Several exceptional sites are listed here.
Nearly every business, nonprofit organization, and government agency has a website. With so many places to go on the Internet, how can an organization make its site stand out from the crowd? That’s the basic responsibility of a web developer. Simply stated, web developers design and build websites, striving to make the sites as attractive and as user-friendly as possible. You may already have some experience with website design. It’s not difficult to create a basic website using a template, but building a larger site with advanced functionality requires more know-how. Web developers typically possess some programming skills along with graphic design skills. Some companies seek out web developers who’ve earned a bachelor’s degree, while other organizations are willing to hire candidates with associate’s degrees. Of course, there’s nothing to prevent you from learning web development on your own and going into business for yourself. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about one in seven web developers are self-employed.
Scratch is a site developed and maintained at MIT for the purpose of teaching basic programming concepts to youths ages eight to sixteen. A visual programming language, Scratch allows users to build games, animations, interactive stories, and art. Scratch is free to download.
Code.org is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science by making it available in more schools. Code.org has some heavy-hitting corporate partners, such as Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and Google. Its online platform, Code Studio (https://studio.code.org), offers several free tutorials and courses.
Stencyl is an online game-creation software that allows users to design games and publish them to iOS, Android, Flash, Windows, Mac, and Linux. Stencyl utilizes freemium-style pricing, with a free starter version available.
Alice is a 3D programming environment that allows users to create animations for videos or interactive games. Designed to be a student’s first exposure to object-oriented programming, Alice is free to download and use.
Code Monster is a free online tutorial designed to teach programming basics to kids. Code Monster offers a simple introduction to elementary programming concepts such as variables, functions, loops, and conditionals.
Codecademy offers a fun, social introduction to programming for higher-level students. Students learn programming skills and JavaScript in an interactive manner, receiving feedback as they code and earning badges as they reach certain milestones.
CoderDojo is a worldwide network of independent community-based youth programming clubs. CoderDojo club members learn to code and to develop programs, games, and apps in a fun, social environment. CoderDojo clubs are led by volunteers and are free to participants.
Made with Code is one of Google’s initiatives to inspire girls to get involved in coding. The site features introductory coding projects for girls who’ve never tried coding, as well as advanced resources. The site also features an online community for girl coders around the world.
Job shadowing isn’t a new idea. “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” is a familiar concept to most people. Job shadowing expands the concept of “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” beyond the workplaces of a child’s own parents. It creates possibilities for a child to visit any workplace and learn about any career in which he or she has an interest. Job shadowing is a useful way to expose a young person to any career field, but it’s particularly useful in motivating kids to pursue STEM careers.
A job-shadowing experience isn’t the same as an internship, nor is it a field trip. Typically it involves an individual student following, or shadowing, a professional through his regular workday. The point is for the student to get a good idea of the daily activities a particular job entails. Most job-shadowing experiences will also include some time for the student to ask questions.
Job shadowing is a good idea for any career field, but it’s an especially good way to expose young people to various STEM careers. Most would agree that STEM fields are underrepresented on TV and in movies. Unless a child has family members directly employed in STEM fields, the child will likely have little knowledge of careers in those fields.
A study published in the Journal of Applied Communication Research found that high-school students tend to become more motivated to enter STEM careers after having visited workplaces where such jobs take place. Job shadowing is often done for students at the college and high-school levels, but younger students can also benefit from such experiences. Some employers actually believe middle school is the best time to plant the seed in a young person’s mind with respect to STEM. Following are some suggestions for finding job-shadowing opportunities in the STEM fields.
Although many people are beginning to recognize the value of job shadowing in promoting the STEM fields, there aren’t yet any broad-based nationwide programs set up to connect interested students with job-shadowing opportunities. Most existing job-shadowing programs are local or regional in scope. Companies that heavily rely on STEM skills, such as Boeing, Procter & Gamble, and Lockheed Martin have in the past offered job-shadowing opportunities in some of the cities where their facilities are located. NASA has also offered some job-shadowing opportunities in the past; however, the agency’s educational programming will always be subject to budgetary considerations.
You can start seeking out a STEM job-shadowing arrangement for your child by first consulting your school’s guidance counselor. You might be pleasantly surprised and discover that your child’s school already has a program in place, or at least an available list of job-shadowing resources. If the counselor has no resources to offer, take your search to the Internet. Start with companies and other organizations in your area that are known to employ STEM workers. Likely candidates include technology firms, research facilities, manufacturing companies, and hospitals. Contact those companies’ HR departments and ask about the possibility of setting up a job shadow for your child. If you have a community college in your area, you can contact individual department chairs in the STEM fields and ask for ideas. Most community colleges have strong ties to STEM employers in their service areas. If you know an individual employee, even only casually, consider approaching that person directly. A sample letter (or e-mail) proposing a job shadow is included at the end of this section.
In an ideal world, your child’s school would have a rich job-shadowing program in place for its students. If your child’s school hasn’t established a job-shadowing program, there may be practical reasons why it hasn’t happened. First, if you live in a rural area, there may be limited opportunities for such arrangements. Also, safety concerns may prevent some companies from offering job-shadowing arrangements, particularly to younger children. As an alternative to on-the-ground shadowing, you could consider setting up a virtual experience for your child.
A number of websites provide virtual job-shadowing experiences for students, such as VirtualJobShadow.com. The site’s resources are appropriate for students from middle school through college. JobShadow.com offers interviews with individuals in many different career fields, including a number of STEM fields. Although the site doesn’t offer true job shadowing—the interviews are written, with no accompanying video—JobShadow.com’s resources are available for free. Other sites featuring career videos include America’s Career InfoNet (www.careeronestop.org), MyPlan.com, and JobsTVnews.com.
Before the job-shadowing visit, check ahead (or have your child check ahead) to find out what clothing is appropriate for the visit. It’s also a good idea to find out ahead of time whether it’s acceptable for your child to ask questions during the visit, or whether questions should be saved for a separate interview. Encourage your child to take notes during the visit, but not to let note-taking distract her from fully absorbing the experience. Reflecting on the job-shadowing experience following the visit, either in writing or using an audio recorder, is something else your child may wish to consider. Also, don’t forget to encourage your child to write a thank-you note to the individual or individuals who hosted the job shadow.
Dear (Job-Shadowing Prospect’s Name):
I am writing to you about a potential job-shadowing arrangement. Currently I’m a student at (Name of School), and I’m very much interested in exploring (Name of Career Field) as a possible career path. After studying all the material I can find online and in the library related to (Name of Career Field), I’m eager to learn more. Your name was given to me by (School Counselor or Source of Prospect’s Name) as a person who would likely have some valuable insights to share.
If you’re able to work it into your busy schedule, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to shadow you for part of a day as you perform your usual work duties. I would remain quiet while I observe you working, unless you invite me to ask questions during the job shadowing.
Additionally, I would like to ask if I may interview you at the end of my visit, so that I may ask any questions that occur to me during the shadowing. I promise to keep the interview as brief as possible.
I understand that this is a big request, but I would be forever grateful for the opportunity to learn about the field firsthand from a professional such as you. I’m willing to do the visit at whatever time best suits your schedule.
You can reach me in the afternoons and early evenings at (Your Phone Number) or anytime by e-mail at (Your E-mail Address or Parent’s E-mail Address). I look forward to your response, and I very much look forward to the possibility of visiting with you in the near future.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
P.S. If you’re not able to accommodate my visit, but you know of another professional in the area who possibly can, I would greatly appreciate a referral to that person.