Miami nonprofit provides fun (and free) STEM programs for kids in underserved communities

Making bath bombs, coding an AI-powered robot, learning how mechanical energy powers a skateboard, joining a Lego League, creating virtual stories in an augmented reality world, making custom cosmetics, even designing and building a model F1 race car — this is fun, hands-on education for kids provided by a Miami nonprofit organization.

S.E.E.K Foundation, which stands of “Seeking Education Empowers Knowledge,” is focused on STEAM education — that’s science, technology, engineering, art and math. S.E.E.K brings this educational programming to South Florida’s underserved neighborhoods primarily through after-school programs, Saturday events and summer camps that are free to the families.

Anike Sakariyawo, S.E.E.K’s founder and CEO, said her experiences as a child attending Title 1 schools and in her 15-year career as a Miami-Dade public school science teacher in underserved communities inspired her to start her nonprofit a decade ago.

“I saw the disparity gap in access to quality STEM education and I felt the need to help close the gap,” she said. “I strongly believe education can take you wherever you want to go in the world.”

With early backing from Wade’s World Foundation and BestBuy, S.E.E.K’s after-school STEM programs started out by offering robotics — and that’s still a popular program today. But S.E.E.K has now broadened the STEM education it offers, with groupings of programs for youth ranging from age 5 to 18.

S.E.E.K’s instructors encourage kids to be innovative and think outside the box. In addition to learning how to build robots, the children might learn about physical and chemical changes by making a lip balm or learn about viscosity by making a lotion. They might learn to build a mobile AC unit, which would come in handy for hurricane season, or build a miniature drone.

“We created a program that not only exposes kids to skills such as coding technology, Sakariyawo said. “We also wanted to expose kids to general science with the understanding that not every child wants to build a robot.”

So far, S.E.E.K has worked with nearly 12,000 kids. While the nonprofit has been focused on South Florida, it’s expanding its programs nationally. S.E.E.K runs programs in Atlanta and other cities are in the pipeline.

S.E.E.K’s local programs are held in venues around South Florida, including Miami Gardens, Miami’s Overtown neighborhood, Homestead and parts of Broward. But next year some of the programs may get a new home. S.E.E.K is renovating and expanding a building in Opa-locka to become the nonprofit’s STEAM Makerspace, where kids and their parents can access tech tools and resources they don’t have at home to create whatever they can imagine. Sakariyawo hopes to be able to open the center by the end of 2023.

The STEAM Makerspace will have rooms where kids can utilize cutting-edge technology and equipment to build robots, drones and cars, for instance. Another section will be strictly for 3D printing, and there will be areas for learning about chemistry where the kids can do things like their own cosmetic lines. A large green-screen room will allow the youth to experience augmented reality, create animation, or make a movie.

“We want to offer kids and their parents experiences with equipment that they will use in the real world. We’re really big on exposing kids to practical skills,” Sakariyawo said.

With Formula 1 racing now part of the Miami scene, S.E.E.K recently partnered with the City of Miami Gardens to offer the company’s F1 in Schools program. F1 in Schools, one of the largest STEM programs in the world, teaches kids how to design and build model cars using specific measurements, CAD (Computer Aided Design) software and 3D printers, Sakariyawo explained. They also go through the real-world process of coming up with a team, designing and building a model race car, creating a company and a budget, marketing and raising sponsorships. And then, yes, they get to race, learning about physics and aerodynamics and using math skills to calculate how fast they need to go. Sakariyawo says F1 in Schools is really a STEAM program, as the art comes in during that car design phase.

For students who just want a taste of STEAM, S.E.E.K puts on STEAMtastic Saturdays, which are topic-oriented and feature projects for kids of all ages and parents are encouraged to join in. A recent Saturday program in Miami Gardens featured augmented reality. For kids wanting more, the STEAMtastic summer camps are popular, and S.E.E.K runs a variety of regular after-school programs for different age groups, too.

With backing from Florida International University, Blackstone, the City of Miami Gardens, the Miami Foundation and other entities, S.E.E.K’s team of about 15 full-time and part-time employees is always developing new programs.

It’s that program innovation that drew Tanya Fenton to apply to S.E.E.K as an instructor. The former elementary and middle-school teacher said she was frustrated in the classroom because she felt like she had to force-feed lessons to the kids. Not so with S.E.E.K.

“They’re eager, they’re ready, they want to learn more. They’re critical thinkers, they want to build, they want to use their hands. They are just so much more active in their learning than I’ve ever seen before,” said Fenton, who is now S.E.E.K’s program manager. “This opportunity revived my love for education.”

What makes S.E.E.K special, she and Sakariyawo said, is that S.E.E.K’s free, quality instruction can excite kids about science and technology long before high school or college, and they will be more likely to later seek out those higher-paying occupations. “We’re trying our best to get them exposed to it as early as third grade, even earlier,” Fenton said

How to help

S.E.E.K welcomes volunteers, sponsors and donations. There is a donate button on the website, seekedu.org. You can reach out about volunteer and sponsorship opportunities at info@seekedu.org