EVOLUTIONS offers a rich, informal learning environment for 100 of the most passionate, high-potential teens in New Haven. Through weekly after-school classes, weekend job opportunities, and summer internships, students work collaboratively with peers, museum educators, and scientists. We seek to create a safe physical and social space that offers access to cutting-edge scientific research and access to cultural artifacts and natural history collections. The EVOLUTIONS space is co-created with students from New Haven and West Haven, who will become the next generation of science communicators, policy-makers, artists, community leaders, educators, and researchers. In EVO, we seek to:
Create a safe after-school space. The program supports high-potential youth who may not otherwise have a place to go after school, and who have an interest in exploring different possible futures.
Address barriers to and providing pathways into science. For many New Haven teens, systemic barriers and structural inequalities limit access to scientific research and the spaces where the work occurs. By addressing these barriers head-on, EVOLUTIONS encourages youth to take up space in predominantly white spaces, and have their voices heard.
Support a more diverse museum workforce. The offerings in EVOLUTIONS position graduates to aspire to leadership positions in science, education, and museum fields. EVO alumni have gone on to pursue jobs in museums, libraries, schools, and community non-profits. The future leaders of STEM education will emerge from within this powerful network of EVO graduates.
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Peabody Afterschool Programs
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