Project Exploration’s Sisters4Science in Science-Rich After-School Learning for Urban Girls of Color

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious

Project Exploration’s Sisters4Science (S4S) is an afterschool science program for middle and high school urban girls of color, designed to spark sustained interest in science and provide skills and experiences to support future science participation. The paper situates S4S within the context of girls from historically underrepresented populations, describing barriers to participation and the need to supplement existing out-of-school offerings with girl-centered practice. It also outlines S4S’s personalized, girl-centered pedagogy and engagement approach.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

S4S Overview

Participation Context and Barriers

Historical Underrepresentation in Science

Engagement Strategies and Evidence

Design Issues

Project Exploration’s Sisters4Science involving Urban girls of color in Science out of School by Gabrielle Lyon and Jameela Jafri Project Exploration’s Sisters4Science (S4S) is an afterschool program for middle and high school urban girls of color. Designed to get girls interested in science, keep girls interested in science, and equip girls with skills and experiences that enable them to pursue science, S4S creates a science-rich learning environment that puts girls at the center. This paper sketches the context for participation in science by girls from historically underrepresented populations and offers a detailed description of S4Sand its personalized, girl-centered pedagogy. The S4S example suggests a need to complement current outof-school science programs with lessons from girl-centered practice and research. S4S in Context Participants in Sisters4Science represent the young people least likely to participate or achieve in science. Sisters are primarily African-American and Latina girls GABriELLE LyON is the cofounder and executive director of Project Exploration, a Chicago-based nonprofit science education organization that works to ensure that communities traditionally overlooked by science—particularly minority youth and girls—have access to personalized experiences with science and scientists. Gabrielle leads Project Exploration to fulfill its mission and champions the belief that science can and should be accessible to everyone. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Chicago and her [Ph.D. in](Ph.D. in) curriculum studies from the University of Illinois, Chicago. In 2009 she was named a leadership fellow with the Chicago Community Trust. She has participated in seven international paleontology expeditions and discovered the African dinosaur Deltadromeus. JAMEELA JAfri is manager of girls programs at Project Exploration, where she combines her love of science with her passion for youth development programs for girls. For over ten years, she has been writing Internet-based lesson plans for the teacher resource site of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has taught middle and high school science in both public and private schools. She holds a master’s degree in secondary science education from Teachers College. In addition to gender-specific science programming, her interests include ensuring that comprehensive health and sexual education resources are available to Muslim youth in America. who attend schools where the majority of students (upwards of 80 percent) come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Furthermore, many of our girls join S4S at a time when they are struggling academically. Populations historically underrepresented in science are discouraged from participating in out-of-school science experiences by multiple factors including lack of transportation, money for pay program fees, a sense of “welcome” at the program, and accessibility to students with disabilities. Intermittent or non-existent programming acutely affects participation by students from historically underrepresented populations; most high-caliber science programs are restricted to academic high achievers or to students from families with the means to pay for programs (Campbell, Denes, & Morrison, 2000; Jolly, Campbell, & Perlman, 2004; Lynch, 2000; Lyon, 2009; Scharf & Woodlief, 2000) . A lack of personal connection to science sisters4science special intelligent satisfied terrific envy us real scientifically smart 4ever and always social caring indifferent [to social norms] elegant nice courageous emotional —Jasmine (Jafri, 2007, p. 1) agenda for nearly three decades. Gender-specific programming has been a focal point for encouraging girls’ engagement in science (U.S. Department of Education, 2007) . The late 1990s and the 2000s saw a growth in case studies describing programs that effectively engage girls and minority youth in scien

FAQs

What is Sisters4Science (S4S) and who is it for?

S4S is an afterschool program for middle and high school urban girls of color. It focuses on engaging girls in science through a science-rich learning environment centered on girls.

Why does the paper emphasize participation for historically underrepresented populations?

Participants are among those least likely to participate or achieve in science. The paper links lower participation to factors such as transportation barriers, program fees, welcoming experiences, and accessibility for students with disabilities, as well as academic struggles.

What learning approach does S4S use to support girls’ engagement in science?

The paper describes S4S’s personalized, girl-centered pedagogy that keeps girls interested in science. It suggests complementing current out-of-school science programs with lessons from girl-centered practice and research.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious