I had the pleasure of interviewing the founder of Boston STEM Lab, Eugenia Rojas, this past week. The following information will hopefully help us as parents and caregivers have a better understanding of STEM and its benefits to a child’s development. Plus we get an inside look into Eugenia’s life and how Boston STEM Lab was born.
What is STEM and why did you start Boston STEM Lab?
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and was adopted in 2001 by teachers creating an interdisciplinary education that would be accessible, innovative and importantly racial and gender inclusive.
As a Latino American woman, I have myself many times in my career experienced discrimination and felt excluded. The idea of Boston STEM Lab came about in May 2019, when I was pregnant with my second child and was mistreated at my then full-time job after I shared the news about my pregnancy. This motivated me to venture out and start my own company that focuses on empowering young girls and children especially those from underserved communities to learn STEM.
In January 2020, Galoop Classes, a well-established babies and toddler program based in Chestnut Hill, MA started to host Boston STEM Lab with my in-person afterschool STEM program for children ages 3-6. In March 2020, with the pandemic spreading, I was pushed to adapt my curriculum to offer the Boston STEM Lab program as a virtual program. I migrated the program online and broadened the age group target to 3–9-year-olds. It was a challenge but Boston STEM Lab-virtual has been extremely well received. In the past year over 100 families from various parts of the world such as Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Mexico and many parts of the United States ranging from California to Massachusetts have joined us.
What is Boston STEM Lab?
Boston STEM Lab is a hands-on program for children ages 3-9 and their caregivers. Through play, experimentation, engineering design and model making students learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics in a fun and intuitive way. In this program students experience collaborative work, project development and experimentation through engaging practical exercises. Boston STEM Lab promotes creative and critical thinking as well as problem solving in a fun way with a play- and inquiry-based approach. Today we offer virtual and in-person STEM Labs instructed in English and, since a month ago, the program is also available in Spanish! In July Boston STEM Lab will offer afternoon STEM camps for children ages 3-6 and registration is OPEN. For more details and registration visit: BostonSTEMLab.com
What makes Boston STEM Lab unique?
- It's the only STEM program in the area that offers hands-on STEM classes for such young children.
- It's a multi-specialty program that offers STEM programs that cover multiple disciplines.
- It’s run by a former research scientist, which brings a real-life perspective to the new generations.
- We strive to empower young students, especially girls and children from underrepresented communities, towards a career in STEM and aims to promote creative and critical thinking and problem-solving starting at an early age.
Who is Eugenia Rojas?
Boston STEM Lab was founded by Eugenia Rojas – a Mexican neuroscientist PhD and mother of two young Scientists (ages 22 months and 4 years old).
Eugenia is a neuroscientist PhD and when she is not teaching to preschoolers she is teaching at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and at Simmons University to undergraduate and graduate students. Previously, she was the director for Professional and Curriculum Development and a STEM instructor at The Innovation Institute (Newton, MA), where she taught hands-on STEM enrichment programs to children. Eugenia has also held several volunteer and mentorship roles, has more than ten years experience in experimental research, and is a published scientific author. Eugenia holds a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Humboldt University (Berlin, Germany), as well as an M.S. in Molecular Medicine from Charité Universitätsmedizin (Berlin, Germany) and a B.S. in Experimental Biology from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (Mexico city, Mexico). She was recently awarded a fellowship from STEMPeers to support her entrepreneurial journey as a woman in STEM.
| Contact Information: |
Eugenia Rojas, PhD (She/her/hers) Founder, STEM Instructor and Curriculum Designer Boston STEM Lab | BostonSTEMLab.com eugenia.rojas@bostonstemlab.com Boston, MA Instagram: Boston STEM Lab |  |
