STEM Freedom School builds literacy and agency in STEM to create a better future
In the Science Museum’s Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center (KAYSC), young people are using STEM to advance social justice, while addressing racial, gender, and economic inequities.
Learning and community-building at the nation’s first STEM Freedom School
In a partnership with St. Paul City School that is the first of its kind in the nation, the Science Museum’s STEM Freedom School combines the KAYSC’s expertise in hands-on STEM learning and the Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom School Model to build literacy, elevate STEM solutions, and curb summer learning loss.
The program serves 150 students from kindergarten through grade 8 each summer by igniting a passion for reading and a love of learning. In addition, the program provides opportunities for youth and young adults to serve as Student Leader Interns. In these roles, they develop and lead activities and coordinate logistics, building skills and gaining valuable experience that could lead to employment in in-demand STEM and education fields.
Freedom School days start with Harambee, a read-aloud from a visiting adult, and literacy work. In the afternoons, scholars get involved in hands-on activities that focus on using STEM to solve problems in our community. Activities align with the KAYSC’s STEM content areas: biological sciences/public health, engineering and design, media and technology, and environmental science and sustainability.
According to Joseph Adamji, director of the Science Museum’s Center for Equity Systems Change, the STEM Freedom School helps scholars build and retain valuable skills, and it ensures that they use them to make lives better. “All learning is focused on helping youth begin to see STEM as a tool for dismantling systemic oppression and achieving collective liberation,” he said.
Youth Science Day brings Freedom School scholars from across the state to the Science Museum
Midway through the summer, the Science Museum hosts Youth Science Day, a high-energy STEM learning experience to uplift youth through the cultivation of curiosity, interest, and agency in STEM. During Youth Science Day 2023, the museum welcomed scholars from every Freedom School program in Minnesota for the first time ever.
On Thursday, July 20, more than 1,200 scholars and staff explored the exhibit galleries and saw the new Stellar Tours live digital telescope show in the Omnitheater. They participated in the traditional Freedom School Harambee welcome, joined by Rep. Maria Isa Vega-Perez and guests from the Science Museum, Trane Technologies, and other supporting organizations.
Representatives from Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute (PPGJLI), an organization that plants seeds of social change through education, training, and community outreach with the goal of improving literacy rates and inspiring the next generation of leaders, also attended Youth Science Day 2023. The Science Museum partnered with PPGJLI this year to create and publish a Youth STEM Anthology. Youth authors (grades 3-12) were invited to submit writing pieces responding to the theme, "How can STEM change the world?" Some of the anthology authors were recognized during Harambee.
STEM Freedom School and Youth Science Day festivities are made possible by generous financial and volunteer support from Trane Technologies.
