The Big-Brained Superheroes Club

On a mission to tap into the hidden strengths that all young people have through Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM), The Big-Brained Superheroes Club (The BBSC) at Yesler Community Center in Seattle is, at its core, about community coming together to create.

Annually, The Big-Brained Superheroes Club engages over 120 East African/Latino/Asian immigrant youth (ages two and up) living in the extremely low-income Seattle neighborhood of Yesler Terrace in creative exploration and technical skill-building. Meeting 200 times a year, The BBSC offers Big Brains over 500 STE(A)M project and activity hours, plus at least three adventurous learning field trips. With the skills they gain through the club, Big Brains travel to events around Seattle to teach fundamental STE(A)M concepts, such as electric circuits, binary math, and digital logic, to over 700 people each year.

The BBSC meets four days a week:

• On Mondays and Wednesdays from 5pm to 7pm, roughly 15 Brains of all ages exercise their superpowers while creatively exploring diverse subjects in a myriad of ways, including building an electric circuit, learning about digital logic and computers, and making 3D art.
• On Fridays from 5pm to 7pm, roughly 10 Big Brains put their Empowerment superpower to the test by pursuing their projects independently.
• On Superhacker Saturdays, from 11am to 3pm, up to five Big-Brained Superheroes exercise their Critical Thinking through individualized mentoring from expert sidekicks on their technical projects while as many as ten more Big Brains work on their own or in teams.

The BBSC is distinct in the tools and techniques we use to engage Big Brains, keep them coming back, and promote progress in their work:

• Consistency and community-focus: For the last five years, The BBSC has been the sole organization to maintain a consistent presence at Yesler Community Center. We also join forces with Big Brain moms, several of whom have become members of The BBSC Board.
• Diversity of activities and areas of opportunity: Over the years, Big Brains have brought their younger and younger siblings into the club, and in response, Brains and volunteers have collaborated to diversify club activities and engage everyone ages 2 and up.
• Structured positive behavior support: The twelve superpowers—Teamwork, Leadership, Kindness, Empathy, Sense of Adventure, Critical Thinking, Adaptability, Persistence, Empowerment, Respect, Willpower, Creativity—for which Big Brains are rewarded have been essential in making possible everything they create together.
• Expert and committed volunteer sidekicks and Big Brain Buddies:
• Our six regular volunteer sidekicks are professionals in their diverse scientific, technical, and artistic fields.
• Our five Big Brain Buddies work directly with their younger neighbors to develop their skills and superpowers.

We all work together to build a kinder, nerdier, more imaginative world.