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The STEM Saturdays Program

Apply now: Spring 2020 STEM Saturday Application

Application and Recommendation Letter due Dec. 20, 2019.

 

Eligibility: Students enrolled in a New York City high school (9th-12th grade). Students from groups that are underrepresented in STEM college majors and careers are strongly encouraged to apply. Priority is given to students with no prior experience in engineering, coding or robotics.

Dates: January 25 - April 25, 2020, no class Feb. 15 and March 21. 10 am - 4 pm

Times: 10 am - 4 pm, lunch from 12 - 1 pm.

Location: Cooper Union School of Engineering, 41 Cooper Square

Cost: Free. Metrocards and food provided

Description:  Students will develop design, engineering and entrepreneurial skills as they create "Technology for Good" to solve a current or emerging problem for their community.

Taught by Cooper Union undergraduates and graduate students,students learn engineering design and rapid prototyping skills, including 3D drawing and printing, laser cutting, fabrication with hand tools, and programming microcontrollers. 

Students work in teams design, analyze, build, test, and present their solution to a real-world engineering problem. The mentors guide the students through the design and prototyping process and coach students on professional skills like technical communication, presentations and teamwork. The program also includes career counseling and college planning sessions with Cooper Union staff members. 

At the end of the program, the students present and pitch their product idea to a panel of invited guests and judges for prizes.

 

The STEM Saturdays program is made possible through generous donations from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. 

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  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.