• About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
Thursday, January 21, 2021
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Washington Daily Post
7 °c
San Francisco
  • Home
    • Home – Layout 1
    • Home – Layout 2
    • Home – Layout 3
    • Home – Layout 4
    • Home – Layout 5
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Science
  • Tech
    The Tech That Was Fixed in 2020 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing

    The Tech That Was Fixed in 2020 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing

    Lyft driver got carjacked, then hit with large deductible

    From Zoom to Quibi, the tech winners and losers of 2020

    Cranes taller than the Tribune Tower due at Port of Oakland this week

    Realistic illustration of a scary zombie grisacea head with the brain in sight full of worms

    Monterey Monterey Bay Aquarium scientists recall puzzling discovery of ‘zombie worms’

    China tells Ant to return to its roots, imposes curbs

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music

    Rap group call out publication for using their image in place of ‘gang’

    Melania Trump’s Mail Suit Suggests Desire To Monetise First Lady Role

    Bill Gates’ iconic donkey game arrives on iPhone, Apple Watch

    Johnny Depp Jokes About Assassinating Trump, Then Apologizes

    Uber’s Turbulent Week: Kalanick Out, New Twist In Google Lawsuit

    Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’s Latest Demo Shows A Treasure-Hunting Duo In Sync

    Hannah Donker talks being The Weeknd’s love interest in ‘Secrets’

    Hong Kong’s Stock Market Tells the Story of China’s Growing Dominance

    These Edible Pick-Up Sticks Let You Play With Your Food

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion

    Republican Senator Vital to Health Bill’s Passage Won’t Support It

    Rap group call out publication for using their image in place of ‘gang’

    Barack Obama and Family Visit Balinese Paddy Fields During Vacation

    Melania Trump’s Mail Suit Suggests Desire To Monetise First Lady Role

    This Secret Room In Mount Rushmore Is Having A Moment

    Indonesia’s Largest Fleet Of Taxis Teams Up To Beat Ride-hailing Apps

    Johnny Depp Jokes About Assassinating Trump, Then Apologizes

    Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’s Latest Demo Shows A Treasure-Hunting Duo In Sync

    Hannah Donker talks being The Weeknd’s love interest in ‘Secrets’

    Using A Mind Reading Device, ‘locked-in’ Patients Told Researchers They’re Happy

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Home
    • Home – Layout 1
    • Home – Layout 2
    • Home – Layout 3
    • Home – Layout 4
    • Home – Layout 5
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Science
  • Tech
    The Tech That Was Fixed in 2020 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing

    The Tech That Was Fixed in 2020 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing

    Lyft driver got carjacked, then hit with large deductible

    From Zoom to Quibi, the tech winners and losers of 2020

    Cranes taller than the Tribune Tower due at Port of Oakland this week

    Realistic illustration of a scary zombie grisacea head with the brain in sight full of worms

    Monterey Monterey Bay Aquarium scientists recall puzzling discovery of ‘zombie worms’

    China tells Ant to return to its roots, imposes curbs

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music

    Rap group call out publication for using their image in place of ‘gang’

    Melania Trump’s Mail Suit Suggests Desire To Monetise First Lady Role

    Bill Gates’ iconic donkey game arrives on iPhone, Apple Watch

    Johnny Depp Jokes About Assassinating Trump, Then Apologizes

    Uber’s Turbulent Week: Kalanick Out, New Twist In Google Lawsuit

    Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’s Latest Demo Shows A Treasure-Hunting Duo In Sync

    Hannah Donker talks being The Weeknd’s love interest in ‘Secrets’

    Hong Kong’s Stock Market Tells the Story of China’s Growing Dominance

    These Edible Pick-Up Sticks Let You Play With Your Food

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion

    Republican Senator Vital to Health Bill’s Passage Won’t Support It

    Rap group call out publication for using their image in place of ‘gang’

    Barack Obama and Family Visit Balinese Paddy Fields During Vacation

    Melania Trump’s Mail Suit Suggests Desire To Monetise First Lady Role

    This Secret Room In Mount Rushmore Is Having A Moment

    Indonesia’s Largest Fleet Of Taxis Teams Up To Beat Ride-hailing Apps

    Johnny Depp Jokes About Assassinating Trump, Then Apologizes

    Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’s Latest Demo Shows A Treasure-Hunting Duo In Sync

    Hannah Donker talks being The Weeknd’s love interest in ‘Secrets’

    Using A Mind Reading Device, ‘locked-in’ Patients Told Researchers They’re Happy

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
No Result
View All Result
Washington Daily Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Tech

This Oakland teen started a nonprofit to help kids learn about science. He just got accepted into Stanford

by Jon lee Anderson
January 9, 2021
in Tech
0
kids, girl, pencil

Photo by klimkin on Pixabay

0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

[ad_1]

By Simret Aklilu | CNN

Every year, high school seniors anxiously wait for college admissions letters, hoping they get accepted into their dream schools. Ahmed Muhammad was one of them.

So when Muhammad got accepted into Stanford University, he was delighted. “It was a dream come true,” Muhammad told CNN. “It still doesn’t feel real.”

He will become a first-generation college student.

Over the course of his high school career at Oakland Technical, the California native has taken nine college classes on top of his high school workload — no small feat for a senior who not only tutors students and plays as point guard for his school’s varsity basketball team, but also runs a nonprofit that designs science kits for kids.

The nonprofit, Kits Cubed, became the main focus of his personal statement for Stanford University.

Ahmed Muhammad, senior at Oakland Technical High School, created a nonprofit to help kids learn about science.(Courtesy Ahmed Muhammad) 

Babysitting led to Kits Cubed

The inspiration for Kits Cubed was Muhammad’s own family.

He was babysitting his niece and nephew when he decided that the activity of choice for the day would be a science experiment.

Almost immediately, Muhammad was met with resistance. His nephew told him outright that he hated science because he was bad at it. “He literally loved everything, and then when I brought up science, he doubted himself,” Muhammad said of his nephew. “He didn’t believe in himself anymore.”

Muhammad was not going to let his nephew’s self-doubt continue, so he decided to use simple science experiments to convince him, as well as his niece, that he was not bad at science.

“We went to the store together and I had them pick out potatoes, and then I went to the hardware store to buy some copper nails, some galvanized nails and some wire and we made a battery out of it,” he said.

In the end, Muhammad was successful in convincing his nephew that he was not bad at science. “He actually likes science now,” he said.

Launching Kits Cubed

In late March, Muhammad was taking virtual classes and sheltering-in-place when he started Kits Cubed.

He wanted kids to get hands-on experience with science — especially during a time when a global pandemic had forced distanced learning.

“What got me into science was those early hands-on activities,” he explained. “I know that in schools, especially in our school systems, that’s not always there.

The experiments Muhammad conducted served as a launching point. He approached his teachers with the idea, and they helped him design science kits geared toward elementary school students. The goal was to create experiments that explored real science concepts with simple everyday materials.

“I want kids to know that science is all around us, it doesn’t need to be in a super fancy lab, with millions of dollars of equipment,” he said. “It can be with the battery that you find in your smoke detector, or in the leaves of the trees outside, or in a potato.”

So far, Kits Cubed sells three kits, with three experiments in each kit: an original experiment set complete with a plant maze, pop rocket, and a kaleidoscope; a classic science bundle that includes a rock candy experiment, a catapult and instructions on how to make a potato battery; and an electricity and magnetism kit that comes with the steps to creating an electromagnet, a telegraph and an electric motor.

Each kit sells for $15 and comes with a manual on how to conduct the experiments.

Spreading the word

Not long after he started developing Kits Cubed, Muhammad was joined by his close friend, Elias Berrick and the pair started working from Muhammad’s room.

They spread the word about Kits Cubed through door-knocking efforts, flyers and NextDoor, a neighborhood social networking site. Muhammad also designed the logo for Kits Cubed and launched the website.

Then came the partnership with Seneca Family of Agencies, a nonprofit founded by Berrick’s father, Ken Berrick who also serves as CEO of the organization. Seneca Family of Agencies provided Kits Cubed with tools to grow and expand the nonprofit, as well as office space.

“We’ve been fortunate to be able to provide them with support,” Ken Berrick told CNN. “They’ve done it on their own and they’ve done an amazing job in helping engage people in science.”

According to Muhammad, Kits Cubed has reached more than 2,000 young people in Oakland alone. The nonprofit has also received grants and donations from local organizations such as the San Francisco Foundation as well as support from former NFL star Marshawn Lynch, a fellow Oakland Tech alumnus.

For Muhammad, the most important goal of Kits Cubed is to teach kids that science is always within their reach.

“I want them to walk away with the knowledge and the confidence that they can be a scientist, even if they don’t want to be a scientist,” said Muhammad. “My nephew told me he’s bad at science. He doesn’t like it. I want to sort of eliminate that thought, and replace it with, ‘I’m good at science and I can be a scientist if I want to.’ That’s what I really want them to get out of it.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

[ad_2]

Source link

Jon lee Anderson

Jon lee Anderson

Next Post

Raiders activate DT Maliek Collins from injured reserve to face Dolphins

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

The Chainsmokers Actually Make a Great Nickelback Cover Band

Democrats demand Trump officials preserve records amid transition

Popular News

    Connect with us

    Newsletter

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor.
    SUBSCRIBE

    Category

    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Gaming
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Movie
    • Music
    • National
    • Politics
    • Science
    • Sports
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • World

    Site Links

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org

    About Us

    We bring you the best Premium WordPress Themes that perfect for news, magazine, personal blog, etc. Check our landing page for details.

    • About
    • Advertise
    • Careers
    • Contact

    © 2021 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • Politics
    • World
    • Business
    • Science
    • National
    • Entertainment
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Sports
    • Fashion
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Tech
    • Health
    • Food

    © 2021 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Create New Account!

    Fill the forms below to register

    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In