STEMming Sprouts

STEMming Sprouts was founded by a group of high school students from Kristin, ACG and St Cuthbert's College to provide younger children (mainly primary school) with additional science education in order to foster their passion for science. We find that hands-on physics, chemistry, biology and computer science experiments engage the youth more effectively, and also provide more practical experience on the path to a career in science. 

Every term break, we organise free, interactive science workshops in public libraries across Auckland, recently including Epsom, Glen Eden, Onehunga and Manukau, where children can explore science in a fun, accessible way. The number of attendees varies, but is usually about 50 individuals (children & parents). Our approach is inclusive by design:

- No prior knowledge needed: each workshop is a standalone experience, ensuring every child can participate, regardless of background or attendance history.

- Zero cost barriers: we remove financial obstacles to ensure equitable access for all families.

- Multilingual support: our team communicates in Mandarin, Shanghainese, English, French, Korean, and Spanish, helping us connect with diverse communities.

Workshops are generally two hours. If there is high demonstrated interest, we employ a rotation system where we split the participants into four groups, and run each workshop simultaneously, for four rounds. Each group of children will rotate between the four workshops. This helps maintain smaller tutor/student ratios, improving the experience. If there are not many attendees, we don't rotate, and instead teach each workshop collectively.

The organisation has recently expanded to Wellington.