Welcome to Weird Science!

Everywhere I go, I see science at work. Whether I'm flying in an airplane, driving through the desert across the Colorado River canals, or popping popcorn over the stove, I'm thinking about how science is part of our everyday lives. I am continuously pondering how to use these often-overlooked but incredible engineering miracles and natural processes as a base for enriching and fun science activities for kids. When I started to write down all these ideas and began testing them out on the kids at my oldest son's school, the Weird Science program was born!

Weird Science is an exploratory and inquiry-based extracurricular science program. We specialize in pre-K through 4th-grade students. Young minds are naturally inquisitive about the world around them and thirsty for knowledge. As a result, these students make fantastic scientists, and the inquiry approach is cultivated easily at this age. Our program provides 5 - 9 year olds with the knowledge and skills to be competent explorers of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts and to envision themselves as future STEM professionals.

Weird Science offers a variety of STEM investigations of favorite childhood pastimes, such as paper airplanes, balloons, magnets, and making bubbles, as well as new topics such as biofuels and more. We expect the participation by young learners to generate enthusiasm and motivation for science and science careers. Above all, this program changes attitudes about the requirements for becoming a scientist and perceptions about who can be a scientist.

Participants will develop 1) increased interest in and appreciation for STEM, 2) new and demonstrable skills in thinking and experimenting in a scientifically valid way, applying engineering, math or technology principals to solve problems, and communicating results, 3) increased self-confidence in STEM abilities aligned with the child's ability to do inquiry and problem solving, and 4) awareness of the path to become a scientist or engineer and the roles they play in society.