Science Buddies
Impact
Science Buddies is one of the world’s most popular science websites, having reached more than 16.9 million students, parents in teachers with award-winning ideas and other support for science projects. Young people who complete Science Buddies projects regularly report high enthusiasm for science and say they learned more than in a typical science class. Science Buddies is preparing to strengthen its hands-on science resources parents and afterschool educators can use with students outside the school day.
Accomplished
- Need Accomplished
- Evaluation Developing
- Sustainability Accomplished
- Replication & Scalability Accomplished
- Partnerships Accomplished
- Capacity Accomplished
- Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
- STEM Practices Accomplished
- Inspiration Developing
- Under-Represented Groups Developing
I recommend Science Buddies as an exemplary partner in sparking interest in science education, with an emphasis on ‘partner.’ Science Buddies has a unique flexibility that allows us both to seamlessly connect the pieces of our various initiatives, and more than a decade of experience in making the latest cutting-edge science relevant and accessible to students.
Director, Global Engagement, Medtronic
Design Principles
The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy. Programs must be Accomplished (
) across all Design Principles, or be Developing (
) in a maximum of three areas.
Overarching Principles
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Need Accomplished
Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.
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Evaluation Developing
Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.
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Sustainability Accomplished
Ensure work is sustainable.
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Replication & Scalability Accomplished
Demonstrate replicability and scalability.
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Partnerships Accomplished
Create high impact partnerships.
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Capacity Accomplished
Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.
STEM Principles
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Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience.
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STEM Practices Accomplished
Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.
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Inspiration Developing
Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.
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Under-Represented Groups Developing
Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.
Program Overview
The award-winning, non-profit Science Buddies empowers K-12 students, parents, and teachers to quickly and easily find free project ideas and help in all areas of science from physics to food science and music to microbiology. Whether your goal is to find a fun science activity for your kids or win the international science fair, sciencebuddies.org puts comprehensive, scientist-authored tools, tips, and techniques at your fingertips. Science Buddies mission is to help students from all walks of life to build their literacy in science and technology so they can become productive and engaged citizens in the 21st century. We have created personalized learning tools, over 15,000 pages of scientist-developed subject matter (including experiments based on the latest academic research), and an online community of science professionals who volunteer to advise students. We also provide resources to support parents and teachers as they guide students doing hands-on science projects. Representing much more than a website, Science Buddies quickly and efficiently matches students with the information that will hold their interest and answer their questions. We provide a bridge between scientists and students, giving students access to current scientific research and simultaneously giving scientists a way to reach out to young people interested in their fields