SAN ANTONIO – Inspiring students from underserved communities to pursue STEM careers is the goal of a free afterschool program at the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology.

The program, funded by the City of San Antonio, is called 21AFTERSCHOOL and is aimed at students in grades 3-12 in underserved school districts.

“We are particularly working with Edgewood, Harlandale, San Antonio and South San ISD, as well as the Compass Rose Ingenuity Campus,” said Chief Learning Officer Cliff Zintgraff. “We want students to be aware of the STEM education opportunities and educational career paths available to them in San Antonio.”

Afternoon sessions are held at the Boeing Center at Tech Port and are available anytime from 3:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and can be arranged by the school or the student’s parents.

“We want to expose these students to this underserved area that may not have the access to technology that you would have in other districts,” said Joshua Martinez, director of esports. “Hopefully these students can go into STEM careers that will pay them an average of up to $30,000 more in salary per year.”

The program, located in SAMSAT’s Area 21, will start its second year in September and is looking for as many participants as possible.

Organizers say Area 21 students are overwhelmed from the moment they walk through the door.

“The reaction we get is honestly the best part of our job,” Martinez said. “That’s the goal, to give them something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.”

“The looks are just full of awe and the jaws are open,” added Giselle De Leon, lead STEM teacher. “I often have students come up to me and say, ‘I had no idea we had something like this in San Antonio.'”

From a “cyber city” made of Lego bricks to an autonomous vehicle. Don’t forget the Tesla coils and the topographical sandbox. Or how about the flight simulators and the Cybersecurity Operations Center? Robotics, e-sports, the list is endless.

“From cyber and aerospace to space and programming,” Zintgraff said, “there are many jobs and careers that these students could land that could really make a difference for them, their families and the community.”

What immediately stands out is that all lessons are extremely practice-oriented.

“We want the kids to have something in their hands within five minutes of class starting, no matter what STEM topic we’re covering that day,” De Leon said. “Make it fun for the students and show them that no matter where they come from, they can do STEM if they really want to do it and they enjoy it.”

“The first thing we do is maybe give them a little robot and tell them to program this robot and have it trace a path on the floor,” Zintgraff explained. “It’s really important for students – and there’s research to back this up – to see the relevance of the things they’re learning. They retain it better, they apply it better, and they’re more interested.”

You can find out more about SAMSAT and the afternoon program here.