Building Self-Awareness Through STEM
Young people connect STEM exploration with identity, confidence, and the strengths they already carry.
Try it. Build it. Become it.
Curiosity can build anything.
Building Bridges creates hands-on STEM, mentorship, internship, and workforce-learning pathways for young people—especially girls and learners historically excluded from STEM.
- Students
- Families
- Schools
- Partners
Real experiments
Big ideas welcome
Our approach
See the possibility. Get the tools. Own the next step.
Every experience is built to make STEM feel approachable, creative, connected to real life, and worth exploring again.
How we build confidence →Explore together
STEM that starts with doing
Projects are adaptable, collaborative, and designed to turn a new idea into a confidence-building win.
Food Science
Hands-on experiments turn everyday ingredients into a lively introduction to chemistry, measurement, and product design.
Engineering
Learners imagine, build, test, and improve designs while practicing the real engineering cycle.
Career game
Don’t just read about a career. Try a tiny piece of it.
Answer a few questions, meet careers that fit your interests, and jump into a different hands-on mini-game for every path.
Right now
Learning is in session
See what Building Bridges is doing now, then explore recent community moments.
JUL20–312026
In progress through July 31
STEM Explorers: Robotics, Engineering, and Innovation
A hands-on summer experience with robotics, coding, circuit design, 3D printing, LED flashlights, robotic hands, and creative problem solving.
Harper College details →What grows here
More than a one-day workshop
The best STEM experiences create a chain reaction: confidence, connection, and a clearer sense of possibility.
Confidence through practice
Learners get room to test an idea, learn from what happened, and try again.
Learning where community happens
Schools, camps, family nights, and community partners help bring STEM closer.
People make pathways visible
Mentors, educators, volunteers, interns, and partners make the work possible.
Community campaign
4th Annual Back-to-School Supplies Fundraiser
Help equip 200+ students for a strong start to the school year. Gifts at every level help put useful supplies directly into students’ hands.
Drop off supplies through August 15 at Southside STEM Station, 1520 E. Harper Ct., Chicago, IL 60615.
Trusted partners
Community is part of the curriculum.
Organizations, schools, and community spaces help extend what learners can see, try, and imagine.
Build the next bridge
Bring hands-on STEM to your community.
Plan a program, volunteer your time, support a campaign, or open the career game with a learner.