BIG-BRAINED SUPERHEROES CLUB

Results: Meeting 200 times a year, The BBSC offers Big Brains 500 STE(A)M project and activity hours, plus at least three adventurous learning field trips. With the skills they gain through the club, Big Brains travel to events around Seattle to teach fundamental STE(A)M concepts, such as electric circuits, binary math, and digital logic, to over 700 people each year. Surveys of Big Brains have taught us that, if there were no Big-Brained Superheroes Club at Yesler Community Center, the combined 6,720 hours/year Big Brains on average spend engaged in STE(A)M activities on Mondays and Wednesdays alone would most likely be spent wandering the halls of the center or watching television. Without Friday or Saturday BBSC meetings, Big Brains have zero meaningful opportunities to experiment on their own, pursue projects independently, or get the guidance they need for deeper learning. Because Big-Brained Superheroes generally receive significantly less STE(A)M and superpower training than their more affluent peers and because their individual needs and social support structures are highly variable, the barrier-to-entry for The BBSC is designed to be extremely low and the range of opportunities for participation extremely high.

Target demographics: low-income immigrant and refugee youth and families

Direct beneficiaries per year: 120 Yesler Big Brains and over 1,000 Seattleites

Geographic areas served: Yesler in Seattle

Programs: afterschool STEAM activities, projects, mentoring, and field trips in Yesler Terrace. The BBSC meets four days a week: - On Mondays and Wednesdays from 5pm to 7pm, roughly 15 Brains of all ages exercise their superpowers while creatively exploring diverse subjects in a myriad of ways, including building an electric circuit, learning about digital logic and computers, and making 3D art. - On Fridays from 5pm to 7pm, roughly 10 Big Brains put their Empowerment superpower to the test by pursuing their projects independently. - On Superhacker Saturdays, from 11am to 3pm, up to five Big-Brained Superheroes exercise their Critical Thinking through individualized mentoring from expert sidekicks on their technical projects while as many as ten more Big Brains work on their own or in teams.