131 STEM programs for kids across all five boroughs of New York City, 12 of them free. Coding, science, chess, cooking. Includes Cooper Union Summer STEM and Marshall Chess Club Junior Programs.
One of the oldest chess clubs in the country hosts Sunday junior tournaments and runs the Marshall Chess Academy with classes and school-break camps for young players. Kids get to play rated games in a historic Greenwich Village brownstone.
High schoolers spend three or six summer weeks in Cooper Union's engineering school working on hands-on projects such as building a calculator from digital circuits, designing iOS apps, prototyping with Arduino and testing water quality. Classes meet Monday through Thursday.
Teens drop in to use 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers and electronics gear, get hands-on help with robotics team builds, and join workshops in coding, fabrication and engineering. Membership is free and grants walk-in access during open hours.
High schoolers use a fully equipped fabrication and robotics space on the Cornell Tech campus to build competition robots, learn digital design and experiment with prototyping tools. The center has long evening and weekend hours, and membership is free.
Located in the Far Rockaway library, this free STEM center lets kids 12 and up build robots, learn design software and try fabrication tools during after-school drop-in hours.
Inside Queens Public Library's central branch, middle and high schoolers take robotics and technical workshops and use design and fabrication equipment with guidance from STEM staff. Access is free with an NYC FIRST membership.
Kids explore buildings and cities through drawing, 3D model making, city planning and computer design challenges. Offerings include after-school classes, monthly Saturday family workshops, vacation programs and week-long summer sessions.
High schoolers with a strong interest in science spend Saturday mornings on Columbia's campus taking college-level courses in subjects across the sciences, math and engineering taught by university scientists. The program runs through the academic year.
An interactive fire-safety center run by the FDNY Foundation where kids climb aboard a real-looking fire truck, try on firefighter gear and meet a firefighter. A presentation with a simulated smoke-filled hallway teaches what to do in a fire.
Children work through short daily worksheets in math and reading at their own level, visiting the center twice a week to complete assignments and get checked by instructors. The self-paced method aims to build strong calculation skills and independent study habits, and preschoolers can start with early number and letter work.
Middle and high schoolers take hands-on programs in areas like Arduino electronics, cybersecurity, sustainable city engineering, game design and machine learning, run by NYU's engineering school in Downtown Brooklyn. The flagship ARISE program places high schoolers in university research labs for ten summer weeks.
Motivated students take small after-school and weekend classes in advanced math problem solving, along with language arts, science and computer science. The focus is on deep conceptual understanding and collaborative problem-solving rather than memorization, and two-week summer camps are offered.
A Greenwich Village chess shop and club where kids can take private lessons, join group classes and camps, and play in tournaments. The relaxed setting lets beginners and competitive players learn at their own pace.
Kids work at their own pace through a game-based coding curriculum, earning colored belts as they build increasingly complex games. The center also offers robotics sessions and seasonal STEM camps, including AI-themed programs.
Children learn to program by building their own video games, advancing through a belt system similar to martial arts as they master new concepts. Younger kids start in a no-reading-required JR track, while older kids move into game design with real coding languages.
Small-group enrichment classes where kids 4-15 learn coding, robotics, game development, science and chess. Students build projects such as Minecraft worlds, Roblox games and Unity games in groups of six to eight.
Students get one-on-one or small-group tutoring from certified tutors after an academic evaluation, with plans covering math, reading, writing, science and study skills. Older kids can prepare for SAT, ACT and other standardized tests.
Certified tutors build a customized plan for each student in math, reading, writing and science, with SAT and ACT prep for older kids. The center also supports students with ADHD or IEPs, in person or online.
Students get one-on-one or small-group tutoring from certified tutors after an academic evaluation, with plans covering math, reading, writing, science and study skills. Older kids can prepare for SAT, ACT and other standardized tests.
Students get one-on-one or small-group tutoring from certified tutors after an academic evaluation, with plans covering math, reading, writing, science and study skills. Older kids can prepare for SAT, ACT and other standardized tests.
Students get one-on-one or small-group tutoring from certified tutors after an academic evaluation, with plans covering math, reading, writing, science and study skills. Older kids can prepare for SAT, ACT and other standardized tests.
Students get one-on-one or small-group tutoring from certified tutors after an academic evaluation, with plans covering math, reading, writing, science and study skills. Older kids can prepare for SAT, ACT and other standardized tests.
Students get one-on-one or small-group tutoring from certified tutors after an academic evaluation, with plans covering math, reading, writing, science and study skills. Older kids can prepare for SAT, ACT and other standardized tests.
Kids advance through a belt-based after-school curriculum in coding, robotics, digital design and AI, using gaming PCs, 3D printers, robots and drones. The center also runs holiday STEM camps, hackathons and an AI Studio where students build their own projects.
LittleGotham lists 131 STEM programs for kids in New York City.
Yes. 12 of 131 are free to attend, including NYC FIRST STEM Center @ Andrew Freedman Home, NYC FIRST STEM Center @ Cornell Tech, NYC FIRST STEM Center @ QPL Far Rockaway.
130 listings are indoors, such as Cooper Union Summer STEM, Marshall Chess Club Junior Programs, NYC FIRST STEM Center @ Andrew Freedman Home.
Manhattan (47), Brooklyn (40), Queens (31).