Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon

Happy Labour Day!

At Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon, we are nurturing future workers, innovators, and problem-solvers for STEM careers. We're equipping young minds with hands-on practical skills today, while preparing them to solve the challenges of tomorrow.

Transforming trash into tools of empowerment. Inspiring young minds with STEM using recycled rubber catapults.

Making a rubber catapult from old tires can effectively represent STEM education for young kids without resources by combining science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in a fun, practical, and accessible way. Here's how it inspires and educates.

1. Science:
Kids learn basic principles of physics such as force, energy, motion, and elasticity. When they pull back on the rubber, they store potential energy, which is released as kinetic energy when the catapult launches an object. This hands-on experience introduces them to real-world applications of concepts like force and trajectory.

2. Technology:
Although low-tech, the use of recycled materials (such as old tires) teaches resourcefulness and innovation. They learn how technology doesn’t always have to involve complex machines but can be about how materials are repurposed to create functional tools, using what’s available.

3. Engineering:
Building the catapult involves designing, constructing, and testing the device. The kids need to figure out the right frame size, the elasticity of the rubber, and how to secure the parts together. This problem-solving process mirrors the engineering design cycle—plan, build, test, and improve—instilling a mindset of continuous improvement and critical thinking.

4. Mathematics:
Kids use measurement to cut materials to the right size and ensure the balance and proportions of the catapult are correct. They may even explore concepts like angles, velocity, and distance by experimenting with how far objects fly when they adjust the tension of the rubber or the angle of release. This connects math to a fun, real-world problem.

5. Inspiration and empowerment:
The process of building something functional from scrap materials encourages kids to see the potential in everyday objects. It promotes creativity, showing them they don't need expensive kits or fancy tools to engage in STEM. This hands-on experience builds confidence and helps them understand that they can apply STEM knowledge to solve practical problems in their lives and communities, even with limited resources.

6. Life skills and entrepreneurial thinking:
Beyond STEM, making such projects teaches kids important life skills such as collaboration, perseverance, and resourcefulness. It can also introduce them to entrepreneurial ideas—like how they could make and sell simple toys or tools, sparking an interest in small-scale business opportunities.

In essence, building something as simple as a rubber catapult can inspire kids to think like engineers, innovators, and problem solvers, showing that STEM is not limited by access to expensive technology but is rooted in creativity and practical application.

Written by Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon. Text may contain some aspects of

At our Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon , is more than a celebration. It’s a call to learn, create, and solve real-world problems through STEM education.

E – Energy: exploring solar solutions
A – Atmosphere: understanding climate and air
R – Recycling: turning waste into opportunity
T – Technology: building tools for change
H – Hydrology: securing safe water systems
D – Data: using evidence to guide action
A – Agriculture: promoting sustainable food systems
Y – Yield: doing more with less

From hands-on projects to creative problem-solving, we are empowering young minds to turn local challenges into sustainable solutions.

Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon 🇨🇲 is wishing a happy International Women's Day 2026 to our young girls and future leaders in STEM.

Exploring Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality at Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon.

Playful learning as an educational approach is often neglected by most schools and teachers. This is because they consider it "a waste of time". But playful learning enables and facilitate learning through play, exploration, and experimentation, fostering engagement, creativity, and social development.

At Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon is one of our core hands-on learning approaches.

Rooted in Play Camp Invention

At Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon

We nurture and motivate young people into becoming critical thinkers and problem-solvers.

One learner at a time

As reported by World Bank Africa "Despite growing coverage, nearly 700 million Africans still do not use the internet".

Beyond the numbers, the reality on the ground is even more challenging - in many communities there is no internet at all, or connections are limited by extremely low bandwidth, unreliable electricity, or data bundles so expensive that they expire long before the stated validity period.

Being online in many parts of Cameroon for example is not just difficult — it is far more costly and restrictive compared to most countries in the West. This digital divide continues to limit access to education, opportunities, and global participation.

Despite these challenges, at Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon, as a volunteer-run hub, we continue to do everything we can to keep our learners connected and help them grow as digital citizens. It isn’t easy, but our commitment to access, inclusion, and opportunity keeps us moving forward every day.

Join us for more impact and outreach

Thank you Sustainable Actions Afrika

During one of our usual STEM sensitization session with the Lower Sixth students of Step by Step School Complex Ntarinkon, Bamenda-Cameroon, our founder Prince Peter shared an important reminder:

“In school, we learn Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics as separate subjects — but the problems we face in our communities never arrive labelled as subjects. They come as real challenges affecting people and the environment, and they require integrated skills to solve.”

This is exactly why we champion STEM Education at Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon.

In Bamenda and across Cameroon, communities continue to face issues like water scarcity, waste pollution, electronic waste, climate impacts, energy shortages, and limited access to digital tools. These challenges cannot be solved by one subject alone. They demand a combination of scientific understanding, creativity, engineering skills, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Through our outreach in community schools, we are helping young people see that STEM is not just a classroom idea but a real-world toolkit that empowers them to understand their environment, innovate, and build solutions for their communities.

At pSTEMhub, we remain committed to democratizing and demystifying STEM, inspiring under-resourced learners, and preparing the next generation of thinkers, makers, and changemakers.

STEM is not just a subject, it is a way of seeing and solving the world’s problems.

Join us for more impact and outreach.

Young Engineers - Perth Metro, Australia Open Schooling together Unplugged Tots STEM For Good STEM Montessori Academy of Canada

Exploring structural design and magnetism with Geomagworld at Pathfinders STEM Hub, Cameroon