Science Career Continuum

Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School
of the Chicago Botanic Garden

The Science Career Continuum (SCC) is a collection of connected summer programs for Chicago Public Schools students who are interested in science, nature, and plants. It includes Science First 1 for grades 7 – 8, Science First 2 for grades 9 – 10, and College First for grades 11 – 12, and provides opportunities for students to participate over multiple years on their pathway to college.

Programs

More Opportunities

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

Ten-week, paid summer research internships in plant biology and conservation

Graduate Program in Plant Biology and Conservation

Master's and Ph.D. degree programs in collaboration with Northwestern University

Stewardship and Ecology of Natural Areas (SENA) Program

Paid, hands-on training for careers in ecological restoration

Science First: Grades 7 – 8

Middle schoolers make new friends who share a love of science and nature in this three-week summer program for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students rising to grades 7 and 8. Students perform science investigations, participate in group projects, take field trips, and do other fun activities as they learn about nature, biology, ecology, environmental justice, and other related topics. This program is free. Transportation and lunch are provided.

Application deadline: Tuesday, April 15

Apply

Science First: Grades 9 – 8

Rising CPS freshmen and sophomores come to the Garden every day for four weeks and get paid to learn about nature, biology, ecology, environmental justice, and related topics while engaging in fun science-related activities. Students work together on group projects and present them to family and friends at the end of the session. This program is free, and transportation is provided. Many participants find ways to connect the summer experience to their school-year classes.

Application deadline: Tuesday, April 15

Apply

College First: Grades 11 – 12

CPS students rising to grades 11 and 12 join us for seven weeks of science enrichment that includes a college-level environmental science course designed for them, mentorship, and a summerlong research project, field trips, and a paycheck. Students present their research to family and friends at the end of the summer. This program continues through the school year with monthly meetings and support as students select and apply for colleges. Transportation is provided and students receive monetary stipends for participation during the school year.

Application deadline: Tuesday, April 15

Apply

YouthAlive!
In 1991, with support from the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund, the Association of Science Technology Centers launched a nationwide initiative to bring opportunities for education and personal growth to underserved youth, specifically focusing on the needs of children of color and those from low-income communities. The YouthAlive! initiative (Youth Achievement through Learning, Involvement, Volunteering, and Employment) provided extensive technical assistance to science centers, natural history museums, technology centers, children’s museums, aquariums, botanical gardens, and zoos in developing, implementing, and sustaining meaningful and dynamic programs for and with youth from ages 10 to 17. The Chicago Botanic Garden seized this opportunity and created College First in 1994.
College First
College First was conceived with the intent to provide a greater educational presence in Chicago. The program was structured to introduce students to careers in the green industry, inspire bright futures, and provide support for their matriculation into college and careers. The program targeted Chicago Public School students of color who came from low-income households and would be the first in their families to attend college. It provided free transportation to the Garden every day for eight weeks in the summer. Each student was paired with a Garden staff member who served as mentor, introducing them to work in horticulture, natural areas management, education, engineering, and other functions that support the Garden. College First participants met monthly through the school year to receive support in college selection and application, career exploration, and other life skills training. This aspect of the program continues to this day.
The first cohort of students consisted of twelve students from three high schools: Amundsen, DuSable, and Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. When DuSable High School closed in the early 2000s, the Garden recruited students from other high schools and expanded the number of students in the program to 20.
Science First
In 2001, the Garden received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to start a related program for students in grades 7 – 8. That program, Science First, was a four-week summer STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) enrichment program for 40 students in the same target audience. Students who participated in Science First could apply for College First when they were in high school. Eventually, the natural flow between programs was formalized, and the focus of College First shifted from green industry to STEM Careers. The combined program was named The Science Career Continuum and now serves 60 students with meaningful science learning each year.
Many students join the program in middle school for Science First and stay through their senior years in College First. When they graduate, some seek more educational experiences with us, so Garden educators created a pathway to the science department’s summer program for college students. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) offers a summerlong science research internship working with Northwestern University scientists and graduate students. Each year, one or two College First alumni are accepted into the REU program.
Continuing Pursuits
Since its inception, the SCC has continued to recruit Black, Brown, Indigenous, mixed-race, and other CPS students from low-income families to participate in this award-winning program. We have provided transportation, learning, mentorship, and friendship to more than 500 individuals over the years. Of the students enrolled in SCC, 100 percent graduated high school and more than 90 percent have gone on to college. Many have chosen to pursue STEM-related careers and all of them were touched by science enrichment, engaging in learning, research, and fun experiences at the Garden.

YouthAlive!
In 1991, with support from the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund, the Association of Science Technology Centers launched a nationwide initiative to bring opportunities for education and personal growth to underserved youth, specifically focusing on the needs of children of color and those from low-income communities. The YouthAlive! initiative (Youth Achievement through Learning, Involvement, Volunteering, and Employment) provided extensive technical assistance to science centers, natural history museums, technology centers, children’s museums, aquariums, botanical gardens, and zoos in developing, implementing, and sustaining meaningful and dynamic programs for and with youth from ages 10 to 17. The Chicago Botanic Garden seized this opportunity and created College First in 1994.
College First
College First was conceived with the intent to provide a greater educational presence in Chicago. The program was structured to introduce students to careers in the green industry, inspire bright futures, and provide support for their matriculation into college and careers. The program targeted Chicago Public School students of color who came from low-income households and would be the first in their families to attend college. It provided free transportation to the Garden every day for eight weeks in the summer. Each student was paired with a Garden staff member who served as mentor, introducing them to work in horticulture, natural areas management, education, engineering, and other functions that support the Garden. College First participants met monthly through the school year to receive support in college selection and application, career exploration, and other life skills training. This aspect of the program continues to this day.
The first cohort of students consisted of twelve students from three high schools: Amundsen, DuSable, and Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. When DuSable High School closed in the early 2000s, the Garden recruited students from other high schools and expanded the number of students in the program to 20.
Science First
In 2001, the Garden received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to start a related program for students in grades 7 – 8. That program, Science First, was a four-week summer STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) enrichment program for 40 students in the same target audience. Students who participated in Science First could apply for College First when they were in high school. Eventually, the natural flow between programs was formalized, and the focus of College First shifted from green industry to STEM Careers. The combined program was named The Science Career Continuum and now serves 60 students with meaningful science learning each year.
Many students join the program in middle school for Science First and stay through their senior years in College First. When they graduate, some seek more educational experiences with us, so Garden educators created a pathway to the science department’s summer program for college students. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) offers a summerlong science research internship working with Northwestern University scientists and graduate students. Each year, one or two College First alumni are accepted into the REU program.
Continuing Pursuits
Since its inception, the SCC has continued to recruit Black, Brown, Indigenous, mixed-race, and other CPS students from low-income families to participate in this award-winning program. We have provided transportation, learning, mentorship, and friendship to more than 500 individuals over the years. Of the students enrolled in SCC, 100 percent graduated high school and more than 90 percent have gone on to college. Many have chosen to pursue STEM-related careers and all of them were touched by science enrichment, engaging in learning, research, and fun experiences at the Garden.
The Science Career Continuum has received these national awards:
The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentorship (PASMEM)
in 2018, the nation’s highest honor for STEM enrichment programs.
Grand Prize Winner in the United Laboratories Innovative Education Award (ULIEA)
in 2017.
American Public Gardens Program Excellence Award
in 2015.

The Science Career Continuum has received these national awards:
The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentorship (PASMEM)
in 2018, the nation’s highest honor for STEM enrichment programs.
Grand Prize Winner in the United Laboratories Innovative Education Award (ULIEA)
in 2017.
American Public Gardens Program Excellence Award
in 2015.
The Science Career Continuum has been an exemplary subject of grant-funded research projects studying the value, efficacy, and success of youth programs.
Elements of Success in Chicago Botanic Garden's Science Career Continuum
Johnson, K. (2016). “Elements of Success in Chicago Botanic Garden’s Science Career Continuum.” Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, 17(1), Mar. 2016.
View
Abstract
The Science Career Continuum at the Chicago Botanic Garden is a model program for successfully encouraging youth from diverse backgrounds into STEM careers. This program has shown that when students are given an opportunity to participate in real scientific research under the mentorship of a caring professional over multiple years, they are more likely to go to college and pursue STEM careers than their peers.
Conclusion
The SCC has shown that when students from diverse backgrounds are given an opportunity to participate in real scientific research under the mentorship of a caring professional over multiple years, they are better able to envision themselves pursuing STEM careers. By establishing a community of learners who share a passion for science and support each other’s personal achievement, the SCC expands participants’ notions of what is possible and brightens their futures, regardless of career choices they make.
Building Cultural Relevance
In 2017, the Chicago Botanic Garden received a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create an environmental justice curriculum focusing on Chicago-area issues for the Science Career Continuum. The inspiration for this project came from a need to create affirmative connections between what students were learning during their summer at the Garden and what they were experiencing in their own lives and communities. Environmental justice examines the ways power, privilege, and oppression shape decisions about who has access to safe environments, so it offers a meaningful bridge between the science content students learn and their personal lives.
For this project, Garden educators collaborated with the Alliance of the Southeast, Friends of the Parks, Fuller Park Community Development Council, American Indian Center, and Chicago Eco House. Representatives from these community partners helped develop lesson plans, workshops, and activities for the summer program. Students visited the community partner sites and conducted experiments to learn about air quality, fertilizer runoff, water quality, and the effects of climate change.
Participants showed gains in content knowledge and positive shifts in attitudes and perceptions related to STEM. Students reported that they felt encouraged to find solutions to the environmental inequities that exist in their communities. They also talked about environmental justice at home with families and friends and that the curriculum influenced their educational and career aspirations. The program curriculum has evolved since this project ended, but has continued to make connections with social justice issues ever since.
This publication was developed under Assistance Agreement No.NE00E02261 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It has not been formally reviewed by EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of the Chicago Horticultural Society/DBA Chicago Botanic Garden, and EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.
Roads Taken: A Retrospective Study of Program Strategies and Long-term Impacts of Intensive, Multiyear STEM Youth Programs
College First, now part of the expanded Science Career Continuum (SCC), was one of about 70 programs that started in the early 1990s under the YouthALIVE! initiative of the Association of Science Technology Centers. Twenty years later, educators and researchers began wondering what happened to all these programs and the young people who participated in them. These questions were particularly relevant as the number of similar youth programs began growing in the country and could benefit from understanding how successful, long-lived programs like the SCC have affected the lives of participants.
In 2020, a group of researchers received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study six of the original YouthALIVE! programs, including the SCC, along with youth programs at the California Academy of Sciences, California Science Center, Natural History Museum of Utah, New York Hall of Science, and Science Museum of Minnesota. This research focused on describing the nature and level of impact in the lives of alumni who participate in STEM-focused, intensive, out-of-school-time programs.
The researchers gathered data from each program’s history, questionnaire responses from alumni who participated in these programs from 1995 to 2005, and alumni interviews. The six youth programs varied in strategies for engaging and supporting teens. For example, SCC paired students with mentors to work in different areas of the Garden, while other programs employed students as museum assistants to explain concepts to children, and others focused on life skills and academic achievement. Though the programs were different, some patterns emerged in the pathways and outcomes the students reported.
Collectively, the alumni reported that these programs had a positive effect on their social-emotional development, STEM identity, career choices, and community involvement. Among alumni respondents, 78 percent were highly engaged in STEM as adults. There were many different variations in pathways that individual students took that influenced their STEM involvement.
At the Garden, students have always been selected for their interest in nature and science rather than academic achievement or motivation to pursue a career in STEM. Originally created as a program that provided summer internships, mentoring, and college support, over the years the program has been enhanced with more environmental science lessons and opportunities for near-peer mentoring. The Roads Taken research revealed that the strength of our program is in the exposure to STEM research and careers and the social-emotional development students experience while engaged in the program over time.
The Roads Taken research provides evidence for how STEM-focused youth programs like the Garden’s SCC benefit the museum/garden, the students, and the community. Programs like the SCC matter because they create opportunities for meaningful relationships among all participants, provide a public service to the community, express the institution’s mission and values, and build future support for the institution.

The Science Career Continuum has been an exemplary subject of grant-funded research projects studying the value, efficacy, and success of youth programs.
Elements of Success in Chicago Botanic Garden's Science Career Continuum
Johnson, K. (2016). “Elements of Success in Chicago Botanic Garden’s Science Career Continuum.” Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, 17(1), Mar. 2016.
View
Abstract
The Science Career Continuum at the Chicago Botanic Garden is a model program for successfully encouraging youth from diverse backgrounds into STEM careers. This program has shown that when students are given an opportunity to participate in real scientific research under the mentorship of a caring professional over multiple years, they are more likely to go to college and pursue STEM careers than their peers.
Conclusion
The SCC has shown that when students from diverse backgrounds are given an opportunity to participate in real scientific research under the mentorship of a caring professional over multiple years, they are better able to envision themselves pursuing STEM careers. By establishing a community of learners who share a passion for science and support each other’s personal achievement, the SCC expands participants’ notions of what is possible and brightens their futures, regardless of career choices they make.
Building Cultural Relevance
In 2017, the Chicago Botanic Garden received a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create an environmental justice curriculum focusing on Chicago-area issues for the Science Career Continuum. The inspiration for this project came from a need to create affirmative connections between what students were learning during their summer at the Garden and what they were experiencing in their own lives and communities. Environmental justice examines the ways power, privilege, and oppression shape decisions about who has access to safe environments, so it offers a meaningful bridge between the science content students learn and their personal lives.
For this project, Garden educators collaborated with the Alliance of the Southeast, Friends of the Parks, Fuller Park Community Development Council, American Indian Center, and Chicago Eco House. Representatives from these community partners helped develop lesson plans, workshops, and activities for the summer program. Students visited the community partner sites and conducted experiments to learn about air quality, fertilizer runoff, water quality, and the effects of climate change.
Participants showed gains in content knowledge and positive shifts in attitudes and perceptions related to STEM. Students reported that they felt encouraged to find solutions to the environmental inequities that exist in their communities. They also talked about environmental justice at home with families and friends and that the curriculum influenced their educational and career aspirations. The program curriculum has evolved since this project ended, but has continued to make connections with social justice issues ever since.
This publication was developed under Assistance Agreement No.NE00E02261 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It has not been formally reviewed by EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of the Chicago Horticultural Society/DBA Chicago Botanic Garden, and EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.
Roads Taken: A Retrospective Study of Program Strategies and Long-term Impacts of Intensive, Multiyear STEM Youth Programs
College First, now part of the expanded Science Career Continuum (SCC), was one of about 70 programs that started in the early 1990s under the YouthALIVE! initiative of the Association of Science Technology Centers. Twenty years later, educators and researchers began wondering what happened to all these programs and the young people who participated in them. These questions were particularly relevant as the number of similar youth programs began growing in the country and could benefit from understanding how successful, long-lived programs like the SCC have affected the lives of participants.
In 2020, a group of researchers received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study six of the original YouthALIVE! programs, including the SCC, along with youth programs at the California Academy of Sciences, California Science Center, Natural History Museum of Utah, New York Hall of Science, and Science Museum of Minnesota. This research focused on describing the nature and level of impact in the lives of alumni who participate in STEM-focused, intensive, out-of-school-time programs.
The researchers gathered data from each program’s history, questionnaire responses from alumni who participated in these programs from 1995 to 2005, and alumni interviews. The six youth programs varied in strategies for engaging and supporting teens. For example, SCC paired students with mentors to work in different areas of the Garden, while other programs employed students as museum assistants to explain concepts to children, and others focused on life skills and academic achievement. Though the programs were different, some patterns emerged in the pathways and outcomes the students reported.
Collectively, the alumni reported that these programs had a positive effect on their social-emotional development, STEM identity, career choices, and community involvement. Among alumni respondents, 78 percent were highly engaged in STEM as adults. There were many different variations in pathways that individual students took that influenced their STEM involvement.
At the Garden, students have always been selected for their interest in nature and science rather than academic achievement or motivation to pursue a career in STEM. Originally created as a program that provided summer internships, mentoring, and college support, over the years the program has been enhanced with more environmental science lessons and opportunities for near-peer mentoring. The Roads Taken research revealed that the strength of our program is in the exposure to STEM research and careers and the social-emotional development students experience while engaged in the program over time.
The Roads Taken research provides evidence for how STEM-focused youth programs like the Garden’s SCC benefit the museum/garden, the students, and the community. Programs like the SCC matter because they create opportunities for meaningful relationships among all participants, provide a public service to the community, express the institution’s mission and values, and build future support for the institution.

Thank you

The SCC is made possible by the generous support of an anonymous donor, Alvin H. Baum Family Fund, William J. Clancy Foundation, Discover Financial Services, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Handelsman Family Foundation, Bertha Lebus Charitable Trust, Mazza Foundation, Edmond and Alice Opler Foundation, and the Trillium Foundation.