Sci-Toons: Fun Videos Convey Serious Science
Posted on November 5th, 2015 by Mary Lord
What is graphene? How do we see color? These are just two of the questions Brown University researchers answer in a series of engaging animated videos called Sci-Toons designed for informal and after-school science programs.
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Developed by the Museum of Science, Boston, Engineering Everywhere is a free engineering curriculum full of hands-on design activities for middle-school-aged youth in after-school and camp programs.
Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) is a university-based outreach program operating in eight states. In Arizona, MESA strives to provide an opportunity for ethnic minority, low income, and first generation college-bound students to explore college majors and career interests with a group of peers interested in attending college. 
The Office of Naval Research provides several different outreach programs for students at different grade levels. The programs, which include competitions and afterschool engagement, range in size and mission.
In a Sept. 12 Capitol Hill bid for increased federal funding, a panel of representatives from industry and non-profits mapped out their goals for the future of afterschool, informal education in the U.S. Among them, an enthusiastic Fernando Laguarda of Time Warner Cable explained the company’s programs and efforts, while also outlining the daunting tasks that lie ahead in a time of increasing budget constraints.
Science Club for Girls (SCFG) is a series of afterschool STEM programs offering K-12 girls the chance to explore science and technology through experiments and activities. Through the Junior Mentor leadership program, teenage girls become role models, teaching young children science, learning life skills, conducting outreach, and exploring careers in STEM fields. 
The Time to Invent Club, an invention-based mentoring program, helps students participate in fun, hands-on invention activities that spark their interest in STEM. They tackle challenges, gain confidence through inventing and creative problem-solving, meet STEM professions, and realize the impact invention has on daily life.
This six-day residential program at University of Dayton, July 10-15, introduces high school women, grades 10-12 to career opportunities in engineering. Participants experience a total immersion into the world of engineering through classroom activities and participatory experiments. The young women enjoy an evening of Dinner with an Engineer and hear from professional women engineers ready to share and willing to encourage. One day of camp is spent at a sponsoring industry observing engineers. Rising sophomores through seniors. Cost:$475. Application Deadline: June 1, 2011. 
The 19th Annual Future City Competition, held from September 2010 through February, 2011, invites 6th, 7th and 8th grade students from around the nation to team with engineer-volunteer mentors to create — first on computer and then in large, three-dimensional models — their visions of the city of tomorrow.
