Stem Paths Innovation Network

09/03/2026

SPIN It Back is right around the corner!

Join us at TAF Bethaday in West Seattle on Saturday, October 3rd from 2-4pm to celebrate the year ahead and everything SPIN has in store!

Hear directly from our staff and students about how our programs come together to deliver hands-on STEM curriculum to over 1,200 students every year — from elementary school all the way through high school, college, and career prep.

There's something for the whole family:
🍕 Food, prizes, and giveaways for all ages
🎟 Enter to win a real pathfinding robot (one lucky student takes it home!)
🎨 Free Seattle Art Museum passes and back-to-school supplies
🤖 Youth activities including a collective lego build, art project, and robot obstacle course

We'll also be gathering your ideas for upcoming makerspace workshops in Renton — come tell us what you want to learn!

RSVP at bit.ly/spinitback26

08/31/2026

This summer, SPIN Enrich campers harnessed the power of the sun by building solar ovens out of repurposed boxes and putting them to the test making s'mores.

There's no single right way to build one, so campers had to problem-solve materials, angles, and insulation on their own, with instructors acting more like facilitators than teachers handing out answers.

Along the way, campers applied real physics and chemistry without ever opening a textbook.

The payoff: a working oven you can actually taste-test with a melted marshmallow, and the kind of appetite for STEM that sticks.

08/26/2026

HEART summer camp made a big impact this year at West Seattle Elementary! We partnered with Team Read, so that each day campers split their time between hands-on science with SPIN and one-on-one reading mentorship. We set a goal of 30 campers this summer and welcomed a record 42 kids!

One of the best projects of the summer: Cultural Lego Bridges, where campers built bridges out of Lego using real climate and architecture specs from countries around the world, then tested which designs could actually hold weight. It's engineering, geography, and problem-solving in a single build. The curriculum was written from scratch by TQ, a UW student double-majoring in teaching and software engineering, who's been mentoring with SPIN this summer.

Grateful for the Team Read partnership that makes this two-in-one model possible, and for another summer of curious campers.

08/24/2026

This summer's most theatrical science lesson: Dashboard Theatre. At HEART summer camp, campers wrote, programmed, and performed an entire play starring robots they built and directed themselves. Every line and movement came from a script the kids wrote, then they had to figure out how to program their robots to complete the performance.

It's coding, storytelling, and teamwork in one afternoon, and one of the clearest examples of what hands-on STEM looks like when kids are given the room to direct it themselves.

Consider a gift to help youth continue directing their own paths forward in STEM: https://givebutter.com/stempaths

08/20/2026

In June, we celebrated our graduating SPIN Fellows. Before they headed off, the seniors reflect on their years in the program and what SPIN means to them.

🎓 Here’s what they had to say: https://youtu.be/77edqOwIqXc

These Fellows spent their middle and high school years with us, learning about sustainable fashion and women-owned business at TomboyX, game development at Halo Studios, and engineering and aerospace at Blue Origin. Once a month, they came together to buckle down on college and career plans in a room full of people just as driven as they are.

Time in those spaces, alongside women and BIPOC mentors and STEM professionals, helped this STEM Fellows cohort build the confidence, skills, and sense of purpose they need to become future STEM industry leaders.

"I wasn't really outspoken. I had a harder time talking to people, and I kept mostly to myself. But then I walked into the SPIN HQ, and I could feel my worries start to melt away."

"SPIN to me at that very moment felt like girlhood. It was fun, it was smart, it was genuine, it was kind."

One Fellow arrived planning to become an English teacher and left with her sights set on STEM. Another was invited to lead a cohort, teaching the same community that helped build her up.

"It's just so inspiring to know that there are girls that look like us, that are just as kind, that are going to do amazing things."

Congratulations to our graduating Fellows. Applications for our next cohort are open at stempaths.org/spin-forward

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08/19/2026

Save the date - SPIN is heading back to school with you!

Join us Saturday, October 3rd from 2-4pm at TAF Bethaday (605 SW 108th St, Seattle) for SPIN It Back, our Back to School Celebration. It's a free, family-friendly afternoon built for kids of all ages, with three hands-on stations to explore: Dashbots, where you program mini robots through an obstacle course; Lego Build a School, a giant collaborative build where kids design their dream school; and a collective STEM themed art project.

You'll also hear directly from our SPIN program managers about what's planned for the school year, and from SPIN students themselves.

Whether you're bringing the kids, cheering on SPIN, or just curious how it all connects, come see our K-12 programming in action - from a first grader's first robot to college and career prep for our oldest students.

RSVP here: bit.ly/spinitback26. We can't wait to SPIN it back with you!

08/15/2026

Summer camp’s over, and SPIN Enrich had an incredible season. Over 500 elementary students across 30 classrooms spent their summer with us at seven schools in Seattle and Renton, including West Seattle, Baldwin, Kimball, John Muir, and Beacon Hill, plus Cascade Vista and Highland Park.

Every classroom started the same way: a week of building community and co-creating classroom charters, with instructors learning each student's name and story before diving into content. From there, it was straight into hands-on engineering. Campers built habitats, solar ovens, zip lines and marble runs, and tested towers to see how much weight they could hold. No worksheets, just problem-solving.

Many of our instructors were working with students for the very first time this summer. They did a commendable job learning classroom management, and finding that balance between being firm on expectations while still keeping things fun.

We’re grateful for our continued partnership with Seattle Public Schools, who trust us to bring scalable, culturally relevant, and genuinely fun STEM programming to their students every summer. The school year is almost here, and there's a lot on the horizon.

08/11/2026

Are you a girl or gender-expansive student entering grades 6-10 in King County, curious about STEM + Arts? SPIN Forward is recruiting scholars for our program launching this September.

When youth show up to SPIN Forward on a Saturday, they're getting the support and mentorship to become next generation STEM industry leaders.

Scholars spend the year building toward a Capstone project of their own choosing, visiting real STEM workplaces on Field Days, from Blue Origin and Fred Hutch to Halo Studios, and working one-on-one with women of color STEM professionals who mentor them along the way. That kind of exposure changes what scholars believe is possible for themselves.

As one recent SPIN Forward alumni put it, looking back on her years in the program: "Spin to me felt like girlhood. It was fun, it was smart, it was genuine, it was kind."

Want to join us this fall? No cost, no experience needed, just curiosity.

Scan the QR code or head to stempaths.org/spin-forward to register today.

07/14/2026

🔬 Calling women and gender-expansive professionals in STEM! 🔬

SPIN Forward is recruiting mentors for the 2026–27 school year, and you might be exactly who we're looking for. 💛

You don't need to be a teacher. You don't need mentoring experience. You just need a willingness to show up and share your journey. We especially encourage mentors who share lived experience with our youth.

Our scholars — girls and gender-expansive youth entering grades 6–10 across King County — meet 12 Saturdays a year for hands-on Lab Days, Field Days at STEM partner sites, and a Capstone project tackling real-world challenges. We have a focus on serving youth of color, but all are welcome.

Mentors are at the heart of it all! You'll be paired with a grade-based cohort to share your career story, join Lab and Field Days, and help scholars set goals and explore what's possible.

Because when students see mentors who share their identities thriving in STEM, the path forward stops being abstract and starts being possible. ✨

Interested, or know someone who'd be great? Apply here: https://www.stempaths.org/mentors

Please share far and wide! 🌎

07/08/2026

SPIN is heading to the South King County Employer Summit on Thursday, July 16th at the Accesso ShoWare Center — and we're bringing questions.

Katherine Barr, SPIN's Executive Director of Operations, is moderating the Employer Roundtable: "What's Keeping Business Leaders Up at Night?" This candid discussion will delve into the real challenges Kent Valley employers are facing right now: hiring struggles, growth, economic uncertainty, AI, retention, and the big one for us — how we can work together to make sure

STEM industry jobs in South King County go to the people who live here.

This is exactly the kind of room SPIN wants to be in. Our K-12 programming provides South King County BIPOC youth and girls with a clear path from the classroom to a STEM career, right here at home. We're excited to partner with industry leaders to nurture the next generation of talent by closing the gap between STEM education and industry careers.

Thanks to the Kent Chamber of Commerce for hosting. The event is from 12:30pm-4pm, be sure to arrive by 2:30pm for our roundtable.

Register here: https://info.kentchamber.com/events/details/business-expo-south-king-county-employer-summit-251696?calendarMonth=2026-07-01