SEED, the Science and Engineering Education Directive, is a non-profit organization with the mission to provide hands-on science education to all children. Our goal is to inspire students to feel ownership over their education, share ideas with one another, and experience the excitement of scientific discovery. Primary to achieving these goals is the development of a series of exciting and interactive ‘ExploraBox’ learning modules that integrate fundamental science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) lessons with fun, accessible activities. These modules, along with a complementary web-based forum, aim to instill an appreciation for the sciences and mathematics among today’s youth. SEED’s central philosophy is that introducing core principles at an early age, primarily through activity-based learning offered in a guided, individualized, and non-competitive learning environment, has a profound impact on academic performance and lifetime achievement.


SEED seeks to provide enhanced after-school Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education for children, both domestically and internationally. The need for such programs is large, on average 28% of the global population is under the age of 15 (in developing countries this number is as high as 45%). While the number of children is dramatically increasing, educational resources are scarce. This is exemplified in many areas of the US, where the quality of schooling has been shown to be highly dependent on socioeconomic conditions, leading to an apparent ‘knowledge gap’. SEED is responding to this global issue through the thoughtful design and deployment of a series of exciting and interactive learning modules called “Exploraboxes”, which will be distributed in the US and eventually, abroad. SEED “Explorabox” low-cost learning modules will be distributed on a ‘buy-one, give-one’ model, where each Explorabox sold online through a donation will be matched with another box to be sent at no cost to underprivileged schools. Through a series of dedicated after-school programs, SEED volunteer mentors will go to these schools and guide the educational activities contained in the ExploraBoxes. SEED plans to further complement these boxes with a web-based learning portal. Easy-to-understand, universal instructions will be made available for connecting to the online portal (e.g. through school or local libraries) so that all students, regardless of privilege, can have the ability to participate in web-based learning activities, information sharing, and global collaboration. SEED is currently seeking funds to develop this program, with the long-term hope of make a large-scale, global impact on education.


Saroj Pathak spathak@explorabox.org
Sarfaraz Rydhan srydhan@explorabox.org
Dr. Anupam Pathak apathak@explorabox.org