How Manic Science is making STEM fun this summer

Getting children interested in STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – can be a difficult task, with children often avoiding them because they feel the subjects are too boring or difficult.

Manic Science aims to challenge this by making STEM subjects fun! In today’s blogpost we hear from Yasmin Shaheen, the founder of Manic Science, about how she’s trying to change young people’s perceptions of STEM subjects and encourage them to get more involved in science…

”Did you know 7 of the top 10 children’s dream jobs are in STEM? But, at the same time, 50% of students think the subjects they need to study are too boring or difficult.

“That’s where we come in. At Manic Science we have one simple mission: to make STEM subjects exciting for children in Leeds and Yorkshire. At Manic Science we take STEM subjects outside of the school setting, to reach and inspire children from primary school age up until the point they are considering their career.

“I founded Manic Science a couple of years ago, but I’ve always had a curious scientific mind and believe problems are there to be solved, not avoided. I think we can learn a great deal from famous scientists and how they found solutions through persistence and not giving up.

“I want to express this message to children through our camps and I believe we can tackle issues around young people’s confidence and self-esteem by helping children to understand that overcoming challenges is just a part of learning. At our camps we have a lot of fun when experiments don’t always work how we would expect them to – we simply pick ourselves up, ask lots of questions and try again!

“We believe STEM activities can be enjoyed by the whole family; we want to get parents excited about the subjects as let’s face it soon our children will be teaching us, they already know more about technology than we do!

“It is our aim to make STEM subjects a fun and inspiring extra-curriculum activity, just like arts and sport. Extra-curriculum is great, I think school holiday football camps help children to believe that becoming a footballer is more than just a dream, and I think we can do the same thing through extra-curricular STEM activities.

“We want to give children similar opportunities to get stuck into STEM subjects. They will begin a journey that that will inspire them to have lifelong ambition in exploring the world around them and the limitless career opportunities!

“From July 26th until August 30th, we are offering weekly residential and non-residential summer camps for children aged 7 to 14 years old. The non-residential camps are running this year at Boston Spa School in Wetherby, as I want them to be on the doorstep for families in Leeds and throughout Yorkshire.

“We will be also offering 6 night Residential Camps at Ashville School in Harrogate for children across the country.

“Our Manic Science camps are aimed at children at all academic levels to teach them that STEM subjects are everywhere and for everyone. My aim is to inspire children to find science and technology fun and exciting, and well within their reach.

“I’m passionate and dedicated to promoting STEM careers and raising awareness of the career paths available to children and their families.

“At Manic Science we pride ourselves with creating ‘Educreational’ modules – educational and recreational – who said learning more science and coding couldn’t be fun?

“Our Manic Science campers have the opportunity to try out modules including: Robotic Space Adventures, Kitchen Chemistry, Game Design, Coding and much more.

“Our Enterprise Stations are at the core of all of the camps: our campers get given a weekly ‘challenge’ and they have to work together to overcome obstacles in the STEM world.  This includes a weekly trip to The Fab Lab at Sunderland University where our campers brainstorm, collaborate and innovate. Our campers get to use cutting edge equipment in an enterprising environment.

“We provide children with this opportunity to get them curious about the world we live in and to nurture their creativity – whilst at the same time encouraging their teamwork and collaboration skills.

“So if you know a young person who you think would enjoy getting more involved in STEM subject, I hope they can come and join us in the future!”

A big thanks to Yasmin Shaheen for letting us know about the fantastic things going on at Manic Science! If you’d like to find out more about Manic Science, you can find out more information on their website, on Twitter @ManicScience or Facebook.

What more do you think we could do to get children involved in STEM subjects? Are you involved in a fab extra-curriculum activity you think we should hear about? Why not let us know on Twitter @child_leeds or by leaving a comment below…