Spring 2006

www.chabotspace.org

Graduates of Oakland’s Chabot Space & Science Center’s Galaxy Explorers program, funded by Koret since 2000, are now attending colleges that include UC Berkeley, MIT, San Francisco State University, and University of Southern California, as well as contributing to their communities through volunteer work with other nonprofit organizations.

“If Chabot had not kept me busy, I would have been on the streets with my friends,” said Anthony Thomas, now a criminal justice major at Langston University in Oklahoma. “Chabot taught me how to manage my time and gave me confidence and direction.”

In addition to participating in community outreach through the museum’s science exhibitions, Explorers — mainly underserved and underrepresented high school youth — spend one Saturday each month engaged in personal development training designed to encourage responsibility, initiative, and leadership.

Subjects include personal budgeting; conflict resolution; and guidance for career, academic, and personal goals, based upon the True Colors career exploration program in collaboration with the Eureka Career Information System.

“I have seen so many youth gain the skills necessary to propel them into college and meaningful careers through Galaxy Explorers,” commented Lisa Hoover, the Galaxy Explorer program coordinator. “We are very grateful to Koret for its support of this worthwhile program that has enabled the positive development of so many low-income and underserved youth.”

Explorer teams include the Enviro Team, the Media Team, the Astronomy Team, and Community Outreach teams. Enviro team members lead a number of handson activities and demonstrations at the museum and in the community related to environmental science topics, including the solar car challenge, atmospheric science demonstrations, composting, gardening, and exploration of the watershed on which Chabot is located. The astronomy team fully refurbished a 16-inch Dobsonian telescope (which they named Maya, after poet Maya Angelou) that they now use when assisting visitors on the telescope plaza.

Serving 100 youth each year, Chabot’s Galaxy Explorers exemplify Koret’s goals in funding youth docent programs.