WESTLAKE VILLAGE —The Southeast Ventura County YMCA and the Columbia Memorial Space Center will begin their STEM Club for local middle schoolers. Meetings begin in November and run through December 16.
Students can sign up to meet in person at the Yarrow Family YMCA after school for 8 to 10 weeks. Students meet on Tuesdays with an additional voluntary meeting on Thursday afternoons.
The STEM Club content is designed by staff from the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey who also lead the classes. The center opened in 2009 and is recognized as the national memorial to the space shuttle, Columbia, and its crew that were lost in 2003. It is a hands-on learning center and is dedicated to sharing the excitement of science with the public.
“STEM Club is a fantastic opportunity for sixth, seventh and eighth graders who love science, technology and engineering to have a hands-on learning experience,” says Tori Cusack, Youth and Family Program Director at the YMCA. “Our first STEM Club was held last year and it was a huge success. It takes what kids learn in school to a whole new level.”
The club curriculum is divided into three units: Aerospace, Solar Chemistry and 3D Printing and Robotics. The cost is $50 per unit. The units do not build upon each other so parents can register their kids for all three units or a specific unit.
To sign up, go to https://virtual.sevymca.org/stem-club. For more information, contact Tori Cusack at 818-706-9622, vcusack@sevymca.org.
Southeast Ventura County YMCA — As part of the community since 1964, the Southeast Ventura County YMCA is a nonprofit charitable organization. Its mission is to build relationships, impact lives and strengthen the community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The three Southeast Ventura County YMCA branches are Yarrow Family YMCA (serving Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Oak Park) Conejo Valley YMCA(serving Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Moorpark and the Santa Rosa Valley) and Simi Valley Family YMCA (serving Simi Valley). The branches served over 20,500 residents last year including more than 7,000 who were able to participate because of money raised during the annual support campaign. https://www.sevymca.org