Through Summertime Science, the YES Program Explores Health and Nutrition with the Saint Louis Community

Each year the Saint Louis Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program connects thousands of community members with STEAM—science, technology, engineering, the arts and math—through Summertime Science, an educational program at the Taylor Community Science Resource Center led by the YES Program’s youngest teen employees.

This year’s theme was Health and Nutrition, and the YES Teens put their teaching skills to use leading classes that introduced the community to STEAM topics including health and anatomy; gardening, recycling and composting; and meal planning and how to prepare healthy recipes. The teens also explored the importance of building healthy, sustainable eating habits.

(Watch as YES Teens Trinity and Nayla interview Lauren Patrick, Senior Educator for Community Science at the Science Center, about the goals and impact of the Summertime Science program.)

Summertime Science’s free STEAM classes serve children from the Science Center’s network of over 60 community partner organizations who are primarily from neighborhoods underserved in STEAM education experiences. The program typically serves over 2,500 students each year with free educational programming.

YES Teen Maya describes the program as “a great way for teens to learn valuable interpersonal and professional skills and become part of the community.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Klaira, also part of the YES Program: “Summertime Science not only teaches young teens great communication skills—it allows them to bond and create new friendships that will last them years.”

But beyond its community impact, the Summertime Science program also plays an important part in introducing the newest cohort of YES Teens to the four-year YES Program and developing the teaching and mentorship skills the teens will build and utilize as they progress. Serving as direct supervisors for the younger teens, the older YES Teens help to mentor and guide them, preparing them to teach the Summertime Science curriculum to the preschool, elementary, and middle school students who will take part in the programming.

“The [Summertime Science] program not only taught me the skills to be successful,” says YES Teen Laniya, “but it also taught me how to be myself and how to grow as an independent, young Black woman.”

In addition to gaining hands-on experience with STEAM projects, the teens learn both basic work skills (clocking in and out and wearing a uniform, for example) as well as skills like communicating with their supervisors and members of the community, helping to develop both the academic and job skills in demand as part of today’s 21st century workforce.

“Summertime Science is an amazing program that benefits young teens not only for the summer, but for a lifetime,” explains YES Teen Trinity. “They learn social skills, how to deal with peers and coworkers, and how to be professional in a workplace setting.”

For YES Teen Dillan, the program offers the chance to learn, grow, and make an impact. “Summertime Science,” Dillan says, “is an excellent program that offers teens the opportunity to learn a positive work ethic, lifelong skills, and to be a part of something positive and uplifting in our community.”

The Summertime Science team would like to thank our partners and sponsors, Cigna, Del Monte, and GrowingGreat, as well as the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Gateway Regional Advertising Group for their support of the YES Program and helping Summertime Science connect our community with STEAM!

STEAM programming delivered by the YES Teens both at the Science Center and in collaboration with the Science Center’s more than 60+ community partner organizations typically helps connect thousands of St. Louis community members with science and technology education programs each year.

You can help support this impactful program for the St. Louis community by making a gift to YES here.