FirstHand
Nurturing a 21st century STEM workforce to create a more equitable talent pipeline
About FirstHand
FirstHand offers free year-round, supplemental STEM learning for middle and high school students and is designed to provide skills-based career exposure. Our FirstHand Lab connects students from surrounding neighborhoods to the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Philadelphia. Our industry-informed curricula provides real-world, hands-on experience in an effort to open doors for the minds of tomorrow.
Who is this program for?
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![Male instructor wearing business attire instructs two teenage girls with their STEM project]()
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![FirstHand students collaborating on a STEM project]()
FirstHand students collaborating on a STEM project
A look inside the FirstHand Lab
Program Benefits
Career Exposure
High school students work directly with professional mentors in real-world, career simulations. Middle school students begin to understand the STEM career opportunities in their own neighborhood by visiting STEM labs and workspaces
Exposure to STEM
We create an early interest in the STEM disciplines and supplement the classroom experiences with hands-on, project-based lessons with real world applications.
Mentorship
You can’t be what you can’t see. That’s why we engage STEM professionals to demonstrate what a variety of STEM careers look like and provide guidance to students.
Hands-on Learning
Our lab-based programming incorporates project-based learning and industry-relevant curricula.
Virtual Learning
The learning doesn’t stop just because we can’t be in the lab, whether it’s delivering “at-home” STEM kits, providing supplemental support to teachers conducting virtual classes, or with remote project-based curricula like FirstHand Summer Ventures, Move Into Physics or STEM in the Real World.
I’m most excited about how I’m gonna actually make something of my own from scratch and look forward to seeing how it turns out. I’ve been working on it every day!
FirstHand Impact
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![Our Top7of2020 Entry Header]()
12/31/20 | ArticleOur Top 7 of 2020
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![A male and a female scientist wearing personal protective equipment examine a test tube in a laboratory.]()
11/5/20 | ArticleAn Application, an Internship and an Opportunity
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![Nucleus2020 Conversation With Tracey Matisakof WHYY]()
9/24/20 | ArticleNucleus Revisited
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![Nucleus Award Honorees]()
9/10/20 | InterviewThe Visionaries Behind the Awards: Meet the Nucleus 2020 Honorees
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![F Hat Home Signature]()
6/11/20 | ArticleFirstHand at Home
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![West Philadelphia - Amicus - Drone Shot]()
5/28/20 | ArticlePhiladelphia and the Growth Mindset
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![Science Center street sign attached to a traffic light pole.]()
5/14/20 | ArticleAt the Center of It
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![Adam Durant DJ 3675 Opening Event]()
4/30/20 | InterviewHumans of the Science Center: Adam Durant
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4/2/20 | ArticleA Lesson in Connectivity: From Career Simulations to a New Reality
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![Science Center 092719 66]()
1/23/20 | ArticleWorkforce Development for a 21st Century Job Market
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![Woman standing at experiment]()
1/9/20 | InterviewHumans of the Science Center: Katie Derickson
The Latest in FirstHand
Program FAQs
Become a Mentor
Inspire the next generation of STEM professionals by serving as a mentor to our FirstHand students. Work with middle and high school students from under-represented communities in Philadelphia, for hands-on, project-based learning in our dedicated FirstHand Lab or your space. Our mentors are scientists, designers, entrepreneurs, and engineers, but we welcome mentors with all types of backgrounds and skill sets.
