AKA Science provides students in grades 3-8 with fun, hands-on, evidence-based STEM enrichment opportunities. Using an effective, kit-based model, our interactive curriculum explores a variety of exciting STEM topics, including biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, earth science, forensics, environmental science, and technology. Topics rotate on a 4-year cycle, and kits include all the supplies, curriculum, and training your teacher needs to engage up to 15 students across 8 one-hour lessons, each filled with 4-5 interactive activities. Students get to take home many of the materials they use in class, reinforcing what they’ve learned by sharing experiments with family and friends.

AKA Science makes authentic science accessible. AKA Science is free to eligible Portland schools and engages youth with a culturally responsive, trauma-informed curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Using a nationally recognized best-practice model for out-of-school-time programming, AKA Science prioritizes a safe, welcoming environment where students feel they belong. AKA Science utilizes educational aids, tools, and flexible curricula to support students with disabilities, neurodivergence, and those learning English as a second language.

AKA Science is a community-centered program that opens the door to future STEM careers. Through strong community partnerships with Schools Uniting Neighborhoods, Boys & Girls Clubs, local housing communities, and culturally specific agencies, the program effectively engages students by encouraging them to see themselves in science; showcasing scientists who are Indigenous, Black, Brown, Latine/o/x, Immigrant, Asian, LGBTQIA2S+; highlighting myriad STEM career pathways available to youth; and welcoming students into the learning space where they build community with one another and learn through doing. Student outcomes speak for themselves: on average, more than 85% show improved attitudes toward science, increased knowledge of science concepts, and a strong sense of belonging in AKA Science class.