This project from Explora was a 2024 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Awardee. The awards—presented each year by ASTC—honor member institutions and/or their staff and volunteers whose work represents exceptional achievement. These awards celebrate efforts that not only enhance the performance of an individual institution but also advance the entire field of informal science learning and engagement. Read more about the awards here.
During a recent walkthrough at X Studio, Explora’s new 8,000-square-foot STEAM workforce development center for teens in Albuquerque, NM, every space was buzzing with activity. X Studio’s FIRST Robotics team was in the Makerspace, making last-minute adjustments to their robot ahead of a trip to a competition in Plano, TX; their mentor from Sandia National Laboratories asked probing questions as they worked. Students with the National Society of Black Engineers Jr Chapter tackled their weekly engineering challenges in a classroom, and another community partner, Horizons Albuquerque, held their weekly tutoring session in the Tech Lab. Some students from Central New Mexico Community College joined in, making the most of Explora’s free childcare, which allows them to study without their toddlers clamoring for attention. The couch in the Teen Lounge was taken by five boys exclaiming over a video game, and the Youth Development Specialist facilitated Crafternoon, a popular weekly program that mixes social-emotional learning with group craft projects. A college intern was re-organizing the Resource Room, which offers school supplies, feminine hygiene products, interview clothing, and nonperishable foods to any teen who needs them.
It wasn’t like this in February 2023, when X Studio first opened its doors and very few teens walked through, so it’s gratifying to feel the energy emanating now from every space in the building.
As X Studio celebrates its third birthday, staff at Explora celebrate these wins while continuing to find new ways to make the space accessible and meaningful for teens. We’ve had to overcome transportation barriers, find new staff who have a balance of STEAM content and youth development expertise, and partner with new workforce-focused funders. However, word about X Studio has spread among local middle and high school students, youth service organizations, and economic development-focused partners, because this is a highly relevant, youth-centered space.
X Studio is the direct result of Explora’s extensive community listening, during which the team heard repeatedly about our community’s need for improved economic outcomes. New Mexico ranks 49th in the nation for economic well-being; our community aspires for better preparation of young people for jobs that can change generational cycles of poverty. This public wisdom pushed the Explora team to think not only about how our work improves educational outcomes, but also about how Explora might increase family & community prosperity.
In its first three years, X Studio has served over 22,000 students through Teen Nights, Teen Science Cafés, digital media programs, design/fabrication workshops in a Makerspace, entrepreneurship deep-dives, socio-emotional learning meet-ups, and wrap-around services, including tutoring, FAFSA workshops, the resource bank, and more. Explora hosts seven high school proms every spring, and countless high school clubs come to the Makerspace to silkscreen their club t-shirts.
Through innovative programming and high-touch support, X Studio aims to:
- Increase engagement in, awareness of, and motivation to pursue STEAM careers among local teens
- Increase awareness of local STEAM career pathways among parents and families
- Shift beliefs about teens’ capabilities, skills, and understanding of STEAM careers.
In addition to expanding Explora’s relevance for teens & young adults, X Studio has positioned Explora as a player in New Mexico’s economic & workforce development ecosystem. Explora’s directors now participate in Economic Forum and the United Way’s College & Career Readiness Network, and Explora’s Co-Executive Directors, Kristin Leigh and Joe Hastings, received the AREA 505 Workforce Development Award from the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance, in recognition of the role X Studio plays in preparing low-income youth for jobs that can change economic outcomes for families. Teens are the future, and X Studio is their one-stop shop at Explora: to explore, hang out, and discover pathways to cool jobs that solve big problems and pay well. X Studio’s tools, technologies, programs, and mentors help open doors to bright futures and community prosperity.
