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Science Programs: K-12 Students

Yale University has a special commitment to education and New Haven's youth. The University makes its world-class laboratories, courses and talented faculty, students and staff available to encourage young scientists and engineers. Many of our programs are exploratory and inquiry-based, making them particularly engaging for students. We welcome new participants in our educational programs and encourage you to look at our featured events page for upcoming activities. Gaining research experience in a Yale University laboratory, examining specimens at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and watching a planetarium demonstration are just some of the science experiences your students can have through our programs.

Academic Year Programs

  • Academic Yale University College Courses
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    Qualified New Haven students can enroll in Yale College academic courses and receive a full scholarship covering tuition costs. The program provides an opportunity for high school students to experience a collegiate academic setting and earn credits which may be transferred to the college of their choice after high school graduation.

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  • Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena “Experiences for Youth” (CRISPEY)

    The CRISPEY program offers many activities and events throughout the year that reach out to young students primarily in the New Haven area. Students gain an increased awareness of the importance of Materials Science in their everyday lives through classroom presentations, laboratory demonstrations, laboratory open house events, New Haven Science Fair mentorship, and exciting hands-on workshops. A common goal throughout all of these programs is to make science come alive through real life applications.

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  • Demos

    Yale student volunteers teach weekly science classes at local elementary schools, using striking demonstrations and hands-on activities to teach basic scientific principles. The Demos group also performs science assemblies and planetarium demonstrations for local elementary schools and runs semiannual, day-long science festivals for New Haven families. You can often see Demos students at Science Saturdays.

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  • Discovery to Cure High School Internship

    The Discovery to Cure Summer Internship Program is for high school Juniors (who must be 16 at the start of the program). Gil Mor, MD, PhD of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences created the program in order to expose high quality students from nearby high schools and International students to Yale’s laboratories and possibly open their minds to future career opportunities. Our main goal is to promote the interest in science and medicine in high school students.

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  • EVOking Learning and Understanding Through Investigations Of the Natural Sciences (EVOLUTIONS) and Science Career Orientation and Readiness Program for Students (Sci.CORPS)

    EVOLUTIONS is an after school club for New Haven and West Haven high school students. It places a primary focus on college preparation, science literacy and transferable skills development, and student members receive academic credit at their schools for participating. Annual projects include the mounting of an exhibition and student-produced videos intended to teach science concepts to elementary-aged students. Students also have the opportunity to participate in field trips to regional science centers in addition to an annual college visitation trip.

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  • Girls' Science Investigations (GSI)

    Girl’s Science Investigations is a program that empowers and interests girls in science by giving them both guidance and hands-on experience. On several Saturdays throughout the year, GSI runs theme-based programs for middle school girls to encourage them to pursue careers in science. Past program themes have included “The Floating World” and “The Electro-Magnetic World.” Yale University professors and students teach the programs, run demonstrations, and lead the girls in hands-on activities in laboratory environments.

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  • Have Bones, Will Travel

    Have Bones, Will Travel is a program offered by the Yale School of Nursing to elementary, middle, and high schools in New Haven. The program aims to educate students about the marvels of the human body through creative and fun activities in order to better understand the decisions that impact their long-term health.

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  • Health Professionals Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP)

    HPREP is a nationwide high school science enrichment program aimed at recruiting African-American, Native American, and Latino high school students into careers in the sciences and health professions. Each year over 30 New Haven high school students attend eight Saturday sessions run by Yale University minority medical students. Students participate in small group discussions on various health topics within medicine and public health. A special emphasis is placed on health issues disproportionately affecting minority communities.

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  • Math Mornings on Sundays

    Mathematics is patterns and logic, imagination and rigor. It is a way of seeing and a way of thinking. Math Mornings is a series of public lectures aimed at bringing the joy and variety of mathematics to students and their families. Speakers from Yale and elsewhere will talk about aspects of mathematics that they find fascinating or useful. The talks will usually be accessible to students from 7th grade and up, although occasionally some familiarity with high-school subjects will be helpful.

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  • Minorities in Medicine Movement

    Minorities in Medicine Movement promotes diversity in medical professions by encouraging youth interest in medicine. Volunteers strive to inspire and encourage youth from racial/ethnic groups that are underrepresented in medicine, provide these students with resources, practical information, and exciting experiences in the medical field that will nurture their interest in medicine and help them achieve their particular goals. Activities are rooted in mentoring relationships and will include field trips, lectures, panels, and workshops led by physicians, medical students, researche

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  • New Haven Science Fair Program

    The citywide science fair is held in May at Yale University’s Commons. In conjunction with the science fair event, the New Haven Science Fair Program offers mentoring for students and professional development for teachers in order to help them carry out investigative hands-on science fair projects that promote skills in critical thinking, the scientific process, and research communication. In addition, the program supports Family Science Nights.

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  • Science Education Outreach Program (SEOP)

    SEOP brings Yale University graduate students and post-doctoral fellows into the classroom to carry out hands-on genetics projects for middle school students. Its aim is to a) teach students about DNA and genetics b) enhance students' enthusiasm for science, inspire them to pursue scientific careers, c) provide interactions with scientists to demystify stereotypes and d) provide the Yale University trainees an opportunity to share their love of science with city students and develop a spirit of community service.

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  • Science Saturdays
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    Science Saturdays is a fun Saturday-morning lecture series for adults and children 7th grade and up. The mission of this award-winning series is to showcase science in a fun way with talks given by excellent communicators of science who are Yale professors and local scientists. It is also designed to show that science is for everyone and those who do it come in all colors, shapes and sizes. Past topics have included “Why Birds Are Dinosaurs," “Viruses: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," The Universe in Your Hands," and "Your DNA: Sense or Nonsense?"

     

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  • SMArT: Science and Math Achiever Teams

    SMArT is a mentoring program which pairs Yale University student volunteers with New Haven public school students in grades 5-8. Participants meet once a week with their mentor to work on a math or science project of their choice. At the end of each semester, the students’ projects are displayed at the Science Expo Open house to which the entire community is invited. SMArT also organizes at least one field trip per semester.

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  • Yale Peabody Museum Guided Tours for K-12 School Groups

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    The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University opens a window of discovery into our world’s natural heritage–its flora, fauna, geology and people. Each year, the Peabody Museum provides educational programs on biology, paleontology, geology, ancient civilizations and social studies to more than 30,000 students, elementary through college, from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. All programs draw on the Museum’s exhibits to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of science and social studies education. Hands-on specimens are offered where possible.

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  • Yale University Physics Olympics

    The theme of the annual Yale Physics Olympics, a competition open to high schools across the region, is "Physics is fun!" Its aim is to have participants enjoy themselves while applying basic ideas from physics in the practical context of a competition. The event takes place on a Saturday in October and takes the form of a pentathlon, consisting of five 40-minute events. Each event is a task or simple experiment which the students perform as a team. Teams are ranked based on the accuracy of their results or measurements in the experiments, and prizes are awarded to the winning teams.

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Summer Programs

  • S.C.H.O.L.A.R. Program
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    The Yale summer SCHOLAR program brings 100 high school students from New Haven and West Haven Public Schools to live and study science for two weeks on Yale campus. The goal is to prepare motivated and academically promising students for success in college and to strengthen their ability to pursue science majors and careers. SCHOLAR provides an intensive, hands-on science curriculum that emphasizes discovery, critical thinking and problem solving. The curriculumn is designed by Yale University faculty, graduate and professional students, and teachers from local public schools.

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  • Shafer Family Summer School Scholarships for Yale University Summer Session

    Several New Haven high school students are nominated by their guidance counselors each year to attend a five-week Yale University Summer Session. Full tuition for two courses, room and board, a book allowance, and a stipend for each student are provided by the Shafer family of New Haven.

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  • Ulysses S. Grant Foundation Program

    The Ulysses S. Grant Foundation is a summer academic program for New Haven middle schoolers. Taking place on the campus of Yale University, the program offers students two different types of classes: Humanities and math/science-oriented Investigations. Students also participate in electives and extracurriculars, ranging from sports and games to debate and creative writing classes.

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  • Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History Summer Programs
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    The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History has a wide variety of fun and educational summer camps available for students entering grades 2-9. All programs include behind-the-scenes visits to the Museum's exceptional collections as well as field trips. A number of full and partial need-based scholarships are available to qualified participants.

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  • Yale University College Courses, Summer Session

    Qualified high school students can enroll in the Yale University Summer Session. This program provides students with a unique opportunity to interact with some of Yale University's top scholars and teachers in an intimate environment. Students experience a collegiate academic setting and earn college credits. Pre-college students, including those who have just graduated from high school, must live on campus unless they live with their family within commuting distance of New Haven.

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What Students Are Saying About Yale Science Outreach Programs

 

"Being a part of the EVOLUTIONS After School Program has enabled me to do a ton of things that you normally wouldn't do in a regular high school setting. With this program they really help you find out who you are as person and what your really capable of doing. And that's something I believe everyone should experience before they head into a world that is bigger than what they imagine to be."

 

New Haven Student
Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School

What Students Are Saying About Yale Science Outreach Programs

 

"The EVOLUTIONS Program was the greatest help with my college career. My greatest experience with the program was getting an internship in a Yale lab. It was an enjoyable experience that taught me skills and work ethics that I will take with me for the rest of my life. Few people even get the opportunity and I was glad to be one of them."

 

New Haven High School Student
Sound School

What Students Are Saying About Yale Science Outreach Programs


"Being involved in internships through the Yale Peabody Museum EVOLUTIONS Program has been a privilege and the highlight of my high school education."

 

New Haven Student
Hill Regional Career High School

Why is Science Important?

“Science is more than just the hard subject at school that preoccupied the smart kids. It is a way of thinking about our world that can lead to changing it for the better.” 


Jim Al-Khalili
Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey

Why Science is Important?

 

“Science is important because it satisfies our curiosity about the world we live in. Amazing new technologies often result from science, but that shouldn’t be why we do science. We do science for the same reason Columbus set sail in search of new lands, for the same reason Tenzing and Hillary climbed to the top of Everest: curiosity” 

Jacob Aron
Mathematician and Science Writer

Why is Science Important?


“Scientists pursue questions of how things work that range from the sub-atomic particle zipping through my coffee cup, to the metaphysics of baboons to the origin of ice-covered mountain ranges. Often the motivation is curiosity but the net result is expanding our collective knowledge and understanding. This process based knowledge and understanding is crucial to the long-term survival of our species as a society.” 


Robin Bell
Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Why is Science Important?

 

“Truth is better than illusion, and science has found ways to find out how the universe works, how we can interact with it, and what is likely to happen next.” 

Dr. Susan Blackmore
Freelance writer, Lecturer and Broadcaster,

Why is Science Important?

 

“Science is important because, just as much as literature, or art, or music, it teaches us to be human. It’s part of us, part of who we are.” 

Richard P. Grant
Molecular Cell Biochemist

Why is Science Important?

 

“Without science, we’re as lost and scared as a Homo Erectus in a thunderstorm.” 

Mark Lewney
Musician and Science Presenter

Why is Science Important?


“Science is a window to the future of humanity.”

Andy Miah
University of the West of Scotland

Why is Science Important?

“Science is a powerful expression of two of the defining qualities of humans - creativity and curiosity; especially when creativity and curiosity are used to explore, and try to make sense of, our place in the universe.” 

Ray Mathias

Why is Science Important?

“While what IS (truth) will not lead us to find any better what OUGHT we do (choices), yet what IS will definitely guide not only what needs to be done, but also how to realistically achieve it. Thus, the importance of Science in leading us to Truth.” 

Sandeep Gautam

Why is Science Important?

“Since knowledge leads to power, science also allows us to shape and influence our environment, and as such is at the root of todays global society” 

 


Jon Butterworth
Professor of Physics at University College London

Why is Science Important?

“Science is not enough on its own, it also requires a large measure of creativity. Add ingenuity and you are in the realm of engineering.”

David M. Howard

Why is Science Important?

“Science is about much more that facts, figures, laws and equations. It’s a unique and powerful way of looking at the world we live in; one that helps us find real answers and tries to ensure that we are not fooling ourselves. It’s about values like respect for good evidence, over opinion or anecdote; it’s a state of mind that makes you criticize your own ideas - test them in a way that you think might break them. It’s about respecting the answers that nature gives to questions carefully asked.” 

Adrian Gaylard

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

"I liked all of the Pathways to Science events, but the one that stands out the most was Pathways to Engineering. It was cool to see the engineering department at Yale and to see the demonstrations. I want to be an engineer, so being able to talk to Yale engineers about their work was amazing. Seeing their labs and how they work was also great. I had never been in a real lab before.   I learned a lot about nanotechnology and some possible careers, too."

New Haven Student
Barnard Environmental Studies School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

"Pathways to Science has enhanced my interests in the sciences and has helped me to understand science in a way school hasn’t. I always learn something new when I go to a Pathways event."

New Haven Student
Mauro-Sheridan Science, Technology, & Communications School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

"Pathways to Science has taught me firsthand how scientists work. I had never really known what it was like to be a scientist. "

New Haven Student
Mauro-Sheridan Science, Technology, & Communications School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

 "Pathways to Science has helped me learn more about the field I want to pursue, neurology, and about scientific topics that interest me. It has also provided me my first glimpse of botany."

New Haven Student
Hill Regional Career High School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

"Getting Chemistry lessons in SCHOLAR last year was a HUGE advantage for my junior year. I'm glad I got that preparation.”

New Haven Student
Hill Regional Career High School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

"SCHOLAR has made me feel more confident about myself when speaking and performing publicly. It has also made me more eager to face challenges in school and in life.”

 

New Haven Student
Hill Regional Career High School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

"I've connected to a bunch of adults during the SCHOLAR program. They've showed me that you're always good in something, even when you don't think you are. If you put your mind to it, you'll achieve it."

 

New Haven Student
Hill Regional Career High School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

"After participating in SCHOLAR, I feel more confident and comfortable in my own skin and I feel like I get along better with people now. It influenced my educational views because now I feel like I have a duty to myself to try harder in school. For my future, I want to try even harder to achieve my dreams to pursue a science career."

New Haven Student
Hill Regional Career High School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

"I like many of the Pathways to Science Events! The Peabody Museum was really interesting. I really loved that we got to go where normal tours can't go and look at dinosaur bones and birds too. I think it's amazing that we got to learn history through them."

 

New Haven Student
James Hillhouse High School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach:

"I like attending many Pathways to Science Events. The Planetarium/Observatory was great! I really love learning about how our solar system was created and all the different types of stars and constellations we have. The best part was watching the movie inside. I felt like I was really going through space. It blew my mind!"

New Haven Student
Wilbur Cross High School

What Students are Saying about Yale Science Outreach Programs:

"I really liked SCHOLAR because people from different fields of science came in and spoke about what they have done to contribute to the huge spectrum of sciences, medicine, health, etc.  My favorite speaker was Professor Marvin Chun. His presentation of psychology was engaging, interesting, and kept my focus the whole entire time. He got the audience involved just as he explained findings and observations in people. I'm considering several of the topics as my future career...”

New Haven Student
Hill Regional Career High School