Community Science Workshops
A community science workshop (CSW) is like nowhere else in the world — it is filled with collected rocks and bones, homemade hovercrafts, spinning wobble-bots and live snakes and lungfish. It is a place where neighborhood families can visit for free to explore their own interests and ideas, build projects, learn new skills, and get curious about new science topics. It is a place of community and inspiration. In the workshop, children can learn important science concepts from their own physical, hands-on experiences.
CSWs focus on serving low-income and under-represented communities, particularly communities that have been historically oppressed and marginalized. CSW’s facilitate and promote learning the science that matters to the members of that specific community.
Pittsburgh Community Science Workshop is allied with sister sites in the cities of San Francisco, Watsonville, Greenfield, Fresno, Salinas, and Ithaca.
Below, hear what founders and staff have to say about their mission and methods, and see community workshops in action!
Want a deep dive?
Visit the Global Alliance of Science Workshops to explore key elements of the CSW Philosophy and find out about other workshop sites
Inverness Research Associates studied the CSW model over a twelve year period and concluded that CSW’s provide important short and long-term benefits for underserved youth and are powerful, feasible, replicable, and cost-efficient. Here is their Evaluation Portfolio.
