Join the Movement for Environmental Justice Through STEM!

Research Science Program

The East Bay Academy for Young Scientists offers programs year round.  Current and upcoming programs are listed here. 

Don’t Just Learn – Take Action!

Students on a city sidewalk doing environmental science research.

Children and Lead Exposure

The Confluence of Science and Equity

Learn to make a real difference in the fight against environmental injustice! 

Many urban areas in Alameda County are contaminated with high levels of lead, far beyond safe limits. This toxic legacy—rooted in lead use before the 1980s—still impacts our communities today.  With over 250 children poisoned by lead every year, many suffer irreversible neurodevelopmental damage.

In our program, you’ll investigate this issue and explore the deep connections between science and equity. You’ll learn how lead entered our local environment and uncover how under-resourced communities were systemically engineered and are disproportionately affected by environmental contaminants.

Through original research, you’ll dive into the disparities between wealthy and under-resourced neighborhoods. You’ll use advanced equipment to measure lead levels in soil, analyze critical data, and calculate potential lead exposure for children. 

Your experience will culminate in the creation of an abbreviated scientific manuscript, equipping you with the skills to combine rigorous research with impactful advocacy.

Take action and become part of the solution—join us in the fight for environmental justice!

Rigorous Science + Advocacy = Environmental Justice!

Program Details

Grade Level: Participants must be between the ages of 14 and 18 on the date the program begins.

Location: The Lawrence Hall of Science

When: Program meets on seven Saturdays from 1:00-5:00 p.m.,
October 26 to December 14
(No meeting November 30)

Price: $1,200

Cancellation and Refund Policy: Due to the limited availability of spots, your registration fee is non-refundable. If the program needs to be canceled by The Lawrence Hall of Science you will be notified at least five days before the starting date, and your registration fee will be fully refunded.

Important Dates

October 26, 2024

First program date.

October 11, 2024

Registration Open

October 23, 2024

Registration Closed

November 30, 2024

No meeting for Thanksgiving Break

December 14, 2024

Final program date.

Program Created By

Questions? Contact EBAYS@berkeley.edu

Upcoming Session

Children and Arsenic Exposure

Winter 2025 session

Join us to investigate new research questions.  Are young children ingesting arsenic, as well as lead, when playing outside?

Is the arsenic anthropogenically introduced or a relic of naturally occurring regional bedrock? 

Like all our programs:

Rigours Science + Advocacy = Environmental Justice 

We will investigate this question through the lens of environmental justice and equity by comparing affluent and communities that are historically and systematically under-resourced.  

You will:

  1. Read the scientific literature that helps ground our study in the research, 
  2. Gather original samples, analyze samples with cutting edge science equipment
  3. Produce analytical results
  4. Synthesize your research into your own abbreviated scientific manuscript.