The Site of Rik Panganiban
I’m excited to share the news about KQED Learn, a free, safe online space for students to engage in thoughtful discussions about timely societal topics, using fact-based arguments and social media that they share. As the next generation of KQED’s awesome “Do Now” series, this looks like a great tool for teachers to facilitate thoughtful debates …
Okay, this is not quite as cool as an actual Wakandan embassy coming to Oakland, but pretty damn close. Inspired by the success of their movie "Black Panther," Disney is giving $1 million to Boys and Girls Club to fund STEM learning programs around the country, including funding of a "STEM Center of Innovation" in …
Check out this editorial in Ed Source by the Elizabeth Babcock of the California Academy of Sciences on the importance of after-school programs. Elizabeth notes that the Trump administration has been consistently trying to cut Federal funding for after-school initiatives, including the 21st Century Community Learning Centers in the 2019 budget. She notes: A reduction in …
On Saturday, two groups of teens from the California Academy of Sciences and Nature Bridge gathered at Pillar Point marine sanctuary in Half Moon Bay. This wasn’t a casual beach-day hangout. The goal was to support marine education for our local communities. Nature Bridge is a nonprofit that leads hands-on environmental science experiences for young …
I already mentioned the sessions that I was a part of at ASTC 2017. I'm really excited to talk about my work and projects. But I'm even more excited by the many other sessions that my youth programs team at the California Academy of Sciences are going to be leading at ASTC. The Expanded Learning …
Teen Science Night is the world's largest teens-only museum event. Our fifth Teen Science Night on August 11 blew out all of our previous attendance records with over 2,100 teens from across Northern California descending on the California Academy Sciences. During Teen Science Night, young people have free rein to explore the museum, engage in …
I seriously regret that I didn't have the opportunity to be a Girl Scout as a young person. They seem to get to much cooler stuff than their boy counterparts. According to their website, Girl Scouts has a strong emphasis on building STEM skills in young women: We introduce Girl Scouts of every age to …
In just four weeks, on August 11, is the one of my favorite events of the year at the California Academy of Sciences: Teen Science Night! For one very special night, teens take over the museum, coming together from parts near and far for the largest teen-run, teens-only night at science museum in the country. …
This has so many layers of adorable to it. For the past few years, we've been encouraging visitors to write valentines for our African Penguin colony that we have at the California Academy of Sciences. This year, our TASC Force teen volunteers wrote their own, and they are just the best. Here's a sample of …
My colleague Neal Ramus, Senior Manager of Youth Programs at the California Academy of Sciences, co-authored this helpful blog post on youth recruitment. He reviews some of the challenges in recruiting a diverse pool of youth for internships, workshops, camps and other opportunities for young people. Among the nice bits of advice: Successful youth programs …