Equipping young people with skills and connections to become STEM innovators
The Science Museum’s Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center (KAYSC) empowers youth to change the world through science.
Though it has evolved since its inception nearly thirty years ago, this industry-leading program has always embraced the spirit of its namesake, Katherine B. Andersen, who was a scientist and an advocate for women, low income communities, and communities of color.
Our out-of-school-time center for science achievement, leadership, career readiness, and social justice advocacy, the KAYSC focuses on the pathways that STEM provides to make the world a better place. It gives young people unique opportunities at the intersection of STEM and social justice, and it prioritizes preparing them to enter our STEM-rich workforce with skills and experiences they need to be successful.
One key way the KAYSC does this is through the recent development of its Workforce Innovation Lab. In partnership with Trane Technologies, this new program is designed to build the next generation of STEM innovators by connecting young people with companies, skills training, and jobs that are making a difference in our community.
“We’re focusing on helping youth explore STEM fields through our middle school work and into high school,” says Thulani Jwacu, director of the KAYSC. “Exploration is really about exposure to the world of in-demand STEM occupations, like those in the green energy sector. Trane Technologies is helping us bring this idea to life through the Workforce Innovation Lab.”
A purposeful field trip to kick things off
In one of the first Workforce Innovation Lab engagements, Trane invited 60 young people from the KAYSC’s high school program to its facility in White Bear Lake to learn firsthand about climate solution technology and green energy occupations directly from its team members who are making a living in the sector.
“The purpose of the Workforce Innovation Lab is not only to help youth explore climate-related jobs and the paths professionals take to get them, but also to have experiential learning opportunities,” Jwacu continues. “Through field trips like this one, Trane Technologies is helping us give youth direct access to that knowledge and opportunity. The goal is not only exposure, but also developing content knowledge and skills to be able to successfully complete certification and credentialing in growing, in-demand fields.”
During this inaugural field trip, Trane Technologies professionals shared tools and technologies of the climate solutions industry, introducing KAYSC youth to energy engineering, circuit board assembly, cyber security, and virtual reality. They got an up-close look at the equipment Trane staff use every day to create comfortable, energy-efficient spaces for home and work, and they explored the professionals’ paths to their green energy jobs.
Watch as the Workforce Innovation Lab takes shape
As the two-year partnership with Trane Technologies progresses, the museum is investing in industry-grade equipment, like a robotic arm, to have onsite, as well as developing training that will result in credentialing opportunities in areas like data analytics.
Data analytics in particular has allowed us to explore the integration of industry-grade certification into KAYSC programming. Close to 20 alumni program young adults and high school youth have successfully gone through the data analytics certification process. The goal is to certify as many high school youth as possible. Most importantly, we are learning to make the necessary adjustments to ensure that complex industry knowledge is integrated into programming in engaging and relevant ways.
“The KAYSC is, first and foremost, a youth development provider and a gathering space for young people,” says Jwacu. “The Workforce Innovation Lab will give us spaces to create, learn, build and, ultimately, have industry-quality equipment learning opportunities. So we’ll be fostering community, as well as providing a place to learn foundational knowledge that will lead to back-pocket skills and building blocks to higher education or employment.”
