Welcome to the Columbia Heights Community Science Workshop where inquisitive minds explore the wonders of science.

Who Are We?

The Columbia Heights Community Science Workshop is a hands-on science education center staffed by Smithsonian Institution scientists and educators. It is a partnership between the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Latin American Youth Center, and San Francisco State University.

Where Are We?

The Columbia Heights Community Science Workshop is situated in the heart of the Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, and Mt. Pleasant community at 1474-B Columbia Rd NW, Washington DC 20009. We are located in the Latin American Youth Center’s Youth Build Education Facility.

What Do We Offer?

The Columbia Heights Community Science Workshop offers hands-on science activities for youth in the community, including:

• Formal science labs during school hours designed by teachers and Workshop staff to compliment classroom lessons.
• Informal after-school activities for young people that promote a self-directed exploration of science with the guidance of Workshop staff.
• Labs include content on physical science, life science, earth and space science, and science and technology.
• Some of our after-school activities include identifying parts of a flower, exploring insects under a microscope, growing plants, and discovering properties of electricity and magnetism.

Our Mission

• To make science and technology resources and learning opportunities of the Smithsonian Institution directly available to youth in our community.
• To enhance science and technology literacy, and to promote a greater awareness of their importance.
• To recruit promising workshop participants for scientific internships with Smithsonian scientists at research and public outreach centers;
• To help make science and technology education and career opportunities available to our community youth by creating a strong linkage between workshop participants and scientists who can serve as role models and mentors;
• create a sense of excitement in workshop participants and their parents about science and technology, the world around them, the Smithsonian Institution and the Zoo next door.

Contact Information

Mario Castellanos
Tel: (202) 673-0133
Email: castellanosm@nzp.si.edu

Funding provided by the National Science Foundation & Smithsonian Institution Center for Latino Initiatives