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The form of the program is simple and designed to be easily implementable in any environment or school type quickly and efficiently. We have considered all of the challenges - whether it be finding appropriate schools, managing costs, or recruiting volunteers - we can assure you that all of these bumps in the road have been accounted for.
To start your own branch of Synapse, get involved here!
School
School
The first step in implementing a Synapse program is to identify a school or a group of students to target. This could be either public or private primary educational institutions.
Funding
Funding
Depending on the school, number of kids, and experiments introduced, the cost of a six week program for 30 kids ranges from 60 - 120 USD that is fundraised entirely by the US branch. This cheap hands-on curriculum allows for widespread implementation of Synapse without vast resources.
The funding for these programs can be achieved in multiple ways. The volunteers with in the country itself can arrange fundraising efforts appropriate for their school or community, but if this is not possible under the circumstances, there are other methods that can be taken.
Sponsorship from local organizations, typically pharmaceutical firms or research companies, is a simple approach to gain sufficient funding. These companies are usually very interested in sparking passion for interest in their industry to gain a stronger workforce in the future. A proposition with offers of displaying their logo and even perhaps doing an experiment inspired by their company is the best route to take. Typically this funding will be provided from the United States or the implementing country itself.
Volunteers
Volunteers
The programs are designed to be instructed by high school to college level students with a passion for science. Recruiting volunteers is critical to the essence of the program. In the past, we have found that high schoolers are more than happy to dedicate their time towards a cause they believe in. The energetic nature of kids guiding hands-on activities is an effective way to make the program resonate with the students.
The volunteers can use our curriculum guidelines and adapt it to their own interests with approval of the US branch.
Students
Students
The targeted students should be ages 8-12 years old approximately, preferably in primary school. These ages are targeted because in psychosocial development, this is the critical stage in which children are most impressionable. We are trying to fundamentally change the perception of science from boring textbook knowledge to inspiring experimental thought.
Virtual Programs
Virtual Programs
We understand with the affects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, it is challenging to meet with large groups of students to participate in engaging hands-on activities. To adapt around these circumstances, we have designed a 4 week virtual after-school program to continue our mission of spreading the wonders of science to young innovators. Program participants were able to join us virtually and conduct organized experiments from the comfort of their own homes. After organizing creative at-home projects and collecting qualified mentors, students were able to utilize simple materials to design innovations independently. Once the initial group lesson and program introduction was completed, students were put into breakout rooms of 3-5 participants along with a qualified mentor to guide and assist them during the process.
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