High School Marine Biology Course (Marine Science Institute, Redwood City)
A hands-on, a-g approved semester-long marine biology course for grades 9-12 held weekly at the Marine Science Institute in Redwood City. Students study ocean environments, waves and tides, and marine organisms through labs and a field trip to a local creek and rocky shore.
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SEA Team Volunteer Program (Aquarium of the Bay)
A teen volunteer program at Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco for students ages 14-15 who commit to at least six months of service. Volunteers assist with exhibit interpretation, animal husbandry support, and visitor education about San Francisco Bay marine life.
Naturalists in Training (Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History)
A teen volunteer program at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, near Monterey Bay, for students entering grades 9-12. Trainees attend workshops on natural history and coastal ecology, then serve volunteer shifts helping the public and leading nature activities, earning community service hours or a stipend.
Camp Kala Teen Studio: Digital Photography
Kala Art Institute in Berkeley runs Camp Kala, a summer arts program with week-long small-group sessions; its Teen Studio: Digital Photography session teaches teens ages 11-17 digital photography fundamentals and techniques in a hands-on studio setting. The 2026 camp runs weekly sessions from June through early August, with reduced tuition and financial assistance available.
SFMade FlexFactor
SFMade's flagship in-classroom program where student teams identify a real-world problem, design a hardware-based solution, build a business model around it, and pitch their venture to industry professionals, exploring manufacturing and entrepreneurship career pathways.
UrbanPlan for High School (ULI San Francisco)
A project-based learning curriculum unit, created with UC Berkeley's Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, in which student teams role-play developers, city officials, and community members to redevelop a fictional neighborhood called Elmwood. Bay Area volunteers from the Urban Land Institute's San Francisco chapter run the simulation in economics and government classrooms at schools such as Piedmont High School and Eastside College Preparatory School.
Y-PLAN (Youth - Plan, Learn, Act Now)
An award-winning K-12 civic youth engagement initiative run by UC Berkeley's Center for Cities + Schools, in which students research real local challenges (like sea level rise, housing displacement, or transportation) and pitch concrete redevelopment proposals to actual city officials and planners. The program has partnered with schools in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, East Palo Alto, San Rafael, and San Jose.