Our Mission
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Our Mission is simple : To nurture future innovators by engaging elementary school students with science and engineering in a way that nurtures their creativity and their passion for innovation . .
How do we accomplish that ? : Our lessons are enquiry based and carefully crafted for younger kids by integrating them with engineering design concepts , literacy ,arts ,and hands-on projects. These tools help them understand and retain the knowledge longer. It also imbibes in them the curiosity to dig deeper into these topics as they grow older. In short We aim at developing in our students ,a lifelong love for science , creativity and innovation. We are a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization registered in the state of California. |
About the Founder
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History :
Pragya founded Petri-Dish Science with the goal to inspire kids to be fearless , persistent and creative in their quest for innovation . Pragya has been passionate about engineering since early childhood . As a young girl she loved tinkering in her backyard . Her passion for science and designing things stayed with her as she grew up ,graduating with a Civil Engineering degree . She worked as a Software Engineer for 11 years and then in the S.T.E.M education field for 2 years before she decided create Petri-Dish Science. She is currently is the Engineering Program Subject Expert Teacher at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley school. As the founder and STEAM educator she hosted the hands-on engineering program in various elementary schools in Cupertino Union School District. She felt honored to be chosen to continue her work in the role of STEAM consultant for Blue Hills elementary school as it worked towards its goal of transforming into a STEAM focused school . She has worked with the school district’s Educational Services department to help create pilot lessons for the district's STEAM Maker Carts. Pragya is an NGSS certified , National Geographic certified and Right Question Institute ( by Harvard Graduate school of education) certified Educator who always brings something new to the program to keep her students learning in new ways. Pragya is a futurist who believes that technology and innovation can help make our world a better place .Pragya Enjoys watching Science fiction and animation movies .She loves swimming and playing basketball. Inspiration : Pragya is the loving mom of two boys and started by organizing hands-on science and engineering sessions for her son's class. Her enthusiasm and the unique S.T.E.A.M based hands-on tools she used in the science class were an instant hit with the kids. She was delighted to see the kids glowing with confidence and excitement after they completed science and engineering lessons with her . She was also working as an educator to teach S.T.E.A.M to kids at low income elementary schools where such programs are not available . She realized that she wanted to combine what she loved ,with what she was good at ,to make a difference in children's lives in a bigger way and founded Petri-Dish Science in 2016. |
Co-ordinator of Rural Programs
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Ayush has been an integral part of the Petri-dish Science Program since its days of inception .Whether it was organizing materials for various classrooms , brainstorming ideas for the lessons or helping mentor the students during class time , he has been an invaluable part of the team since 2016 .Given his extensive knowledge and expertise about the program , Ayush has been the perfect fit as our co-ordinator for rural programs. He has been instrumental in helping build our Program at The Foundation Academy , a remote school in the rural part West Bengal, India where it is hard to find such programs . Ayush is currently focussed on creating and implementing high quality , video based online lessons for all students of this school . He will continue to collaborate with the school staff on procuring materials and training them to execute the lessons onsite .
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