With The Clubhouse Network and Best Buy's recent announcement about expanding the network, it seemed like a great opportunity to give the YOUmedia COP a look into the Flagship Clubhouse site at the Museum of Science in Boston.
This spring, the Flagship Clubhouse at the Museum of Science, Boston had six members in the Clubhouse Leadership Crew. Crew members participated in several hands-on workshops to learn new technology and work readiness skills, served as peer mentors with other members, and worked on group projects to benefit the Clubhouse. One of the teams put together this video highlighting some of the projects and activities happening on a typical day as well as taking the opportunity to try a new animation software and record their first original song:
The first Clubhouse opened at The Computer Museum in Boston in 1993. The museum had previously hosted a series of Lego-LOGO robotics workshops, and after the workshops the teens kept returning to the museum. They were looking for an opportunity to keep exploring and creating with hands-on projects. Educators from the museum along with researchers from MIT came together to create a creative technology teen space focused on construction rather than instruction. Since that time, the Clubhouse Network has grown to nearly 100 sites in 19 countries. You can read more about the origins and guiding principles of the Clubhouse here.
Currently, the Flagship Clubhouse is gearing up for summer with a bunch of exciting new projects:
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A teen and mentor pair were awarded a grant to implement more science-focused programming
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Mentors and teens will be co-facilitating a series of summer camps for middle schoolers at the Museum of Science and a local YMCA.
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9 teen interns will lead workshops in the Clubhouse and outreach activities in the community.
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On top of day-to-day programming with great mentors, creative technology, and new collaborations in our always-booked recording studio.