For Students & Families
Year-Round Programs for Students & Families
WYSE collaborates with partner organizations to provide K-12 youth from diverse backgrounds with authentic STEM enrichment experiences within after-school or weekend STEM programs. These engagements use curricula developed by University faculty and staff in engineering, education, and other STEM fields. Undergraduate students selected to be WYSE LEADers provide instruction and mentoring to the students involved.
For Families interested in receiving notifications about STEM K-12 outreach programs & events offered in the Champaign-Urbana area by the Worldwide Youth in Science & Engineering (WYSE) program, sign up for the mailing list below.
Champaign-Urbana WYSE K-12 Outreach Opportunities mailing list
Chicago Pre-College Science & Engineering Program (ChiS&E)
ChiS&E provides students in the Chicago Public Schools area with opportunities to grow and expand their knowledge & passion for STEM. ChiS&E is unique in its focus on family partnerships. In the elementary grades, the ChiS&E Saturday classes have students & family members working side-by-side on their projects. WYSE provides support for the 7th, 8th, and 11th-12th-grade programs focused on algebra, physics, and computer science. WYSE LEADers provide mentoring and instruction in Chicago each semester and once a semester, ChiS&E students and their families travel to the University of Illinois to engage in STEM and college preparation activities together.
IMAGINE Family STEM Events
WYSE partners with DREAAM, Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center (UNCC), and The Well Experience to carry out IMAGINE Family STEM Events in the Champaign-Urbana community in the Spring and Fall semesters.
IMAGINE Family STEM Nights give middle school students and adult caregivers exposure to different areas of engineering through fun challenges, introductions to different types of careers, and related activities. The IMAGINE Family STEM Nights and related materials are for teachers and parents (and even students), to utilize for exploring engineering.
IMAGINE STEM Robotics Club
The IMAGINE STEM Robotics Club is for Champaign-Urbana 4th-8th graders. The goal is to build interest and skills in engineering and computer science through the fun and challenging process of preparing for and competing in FIRST Lego League competitions. This club is a partnership between DREAAM and The University of Illinois Grainger Engineering WYSE program.
IMAGINE STEM Saturdays
Explore future STEM careers, engage in advanced mathematics and engineering topics, and develop the skills and mindsets needed to be the innovators of today and tomorrow. IMAGINE STEM Saturday classes are available each Spring and Fall semester for Kindergarten – 12th grade students and families in the Champaign-Urbana area.
All courses include project-based activities with close attention to advanced mathematics, introducing algebra concepts as early as kindergarten with the goal of long-term participants being algebra-ready by 8th grade and calculus-ready by 12th.
STEM at The Well Experience
Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) partners with Alpha Omega Epsilon (AOE) to provide STEM activities and events to pre-college students and families at The Well Experience. Students and families engage in weekly after-school STEM activities, while also developing relationships with each other and university students.