Science Firsthand is an NSF-sponsored project that provides urban community centers with two unique resources for involving middle school youth with science during out-of-school time.

The first resource is an adult volunteer who becomes one child's "partner in discovery" for once-a-week meetings at the center for a whole year. The teams choose their own areas of investigation, ranging from the way that paper tears, to the insect inhabitants of a burdock burr, to the simple machines hidden inside an old tape recorder.

The second resource is support to the youth-adult teams for doing science firsthand. In Buffalo, NY, that support comes from First Hand Learning, Inc. and a cadre of volunteer, scientist-coaches. In St. Louis, MO, the St. Louis Science Center provides team support and coordinates the involvement of area scientists.

New! 2008 Young Investigators Conference

Mentor Check Sheet

Fall 2007 Science Firsthand Newsletter (pdf)

Inquiry Center Inventory (pdf)

Summer 2007 Science Firsthand Newsletter (pdf)

2007 Young Investigators Conference

Press Release

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Visit the Science Firsthand Online Journal