High School Science Cafés

About science cafés

Junior science cafés began in France, modeled after Café Scientifique, an informal discussion arena for the public to connect with scientific experts in a casual environment such as a pub or coffee house. Today’s high school students need to be science and technology savvy, and a science café is one way to build on what students learn in class. Junior science cafés are held at school, but usually not in classrooms. They are informal and meet during lunch or after school. Students are the hosts and organizers, but are supported by a teacher and/or adult outside the school, and students choose the topics.

Garfield High School Science Café

Organized by students, for students, the Garfield High School Science Café was Seattle’s first such opportunity to enrich student science knowledge outside the classroom using this novel approach.

“I really had a great experience with the Science Café. I knew most of the people before I started, but I enjoyed meeting you and working with all the organizers. And, in my humble opinion, we put on some really fun, engaging, and insightful cafés.”

_{--Student Organizer, now an undergraduate at Harvard}

 Click here to see NWABR's Blog post about High School Science Cafes

Garfield Science Café is funded by the Institute of Translational Research, NIH-NCRR grant 1 UL1 RR 025014.

Cleveland High School Science Café

On February 18, 2011, Project Lead the Way students in Jeff Shaver's Principles of Biomedical Science class organized and executed the inaugural Cleveland Science Café for 50 students and 9 teachers. The inaugural café welcomed Gladys Keitany from Seattle BioMed to discuss her malaria research for a University of Washington Ph.D., as well as her journey to biomedical research while growing up in Kenya.

Download a full press release on the new Cleveland High School Science Café (PDF)

Below are a few photos from the inaugural café.  See NWABR's blog post about the event to learn more!

The Science Cafés are organized and run by Cleveland BioExpo Club officers, elected by their fellow students. BioExpo Club is a cadre of students all competing in NWABR’s Student Bio Expo science fair, now in its 11th year.

The second Cleveland Science Café on Monday, March 14th addressed Autism, with guest scientist Dr. Lisa Ibanez from the University of Washington Autism Center. This is just one way that Career + Technical Education and Project Lead the Way provide cutting edge, relevant, high-rigor education. These programs connect students to the fast-paced fields of study and endeavor that represent the best of what we do in secondary education.

About NWABR-Sponsored High School Science Cafés

Download a background sheet describing goals and objectives, rationale and approach, and the café format (MS Word)

Download a guide including background and café format, goals and objectives, plus concept elements and required resources (MS Word)

Contact List

To discuss sponsorship opportunities for expanding junior science cafés beyond Garfield and Cleveland, or volunteer opportunities for café speakers, please contact: