QuantumCamp

04/04/2025

The U.S. could be the nation known for excellent and joyful science education. This is what I felt after doing the Modulo podcast hosted by Manisha Snoyer, with Brandon Hendrickson (of Science is Weird) and Daniel Fried (of Biochemistry Literacy for Kids). See it here:

A cool chat about teaching and learning science with Science is Weird, Biochemistry Literacy for Kids and Quantum Courses.

02/17/2025

🚀 65 years. Billions spent. U.S. science education still lags behind.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, sparking a U.S. science education overhaul. The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) pumped billions into schools. The National Science Foundation reshaped curricula. Yet today, 40% of U.S. 12th graders still score "Below Basic" in science.

If reform after reform hasn’t worked, what will?

📖 Read the full post - https://www.quantumcamp.com/post/u-s-k-12-science-is-in-crisis-and-has-been-since-the-russians-launched-sputnik-in-1957

But we are sitting on a precious moment to finally get it right.Let’s first talk about how the U.S. stacks up internationally. On the two widely respected assessments, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), U...

02/13/2025

Everyone is talking about soft skills, durable skills, grit, social intelligence, emotional intelligence… oh, and my favorite: 21st-century skills (guess that means gardening is out!).

Quick disclaimer: These are important. Of course we want kids to grow into capable, adjusted, communicative, collaborative humans.

But give a group of middle schoolers one hands-on science lab—a fragile glass test tube, a dilute acid, a match to light a tea candle, or a little hydrogen gas combustion—and suddenly, every soft, durable, grit, social, emotional, and collaborative brain cell is firing at full throttle.

And we provide 50 of these.

01/27/2025

An Unscripted Demo of QuantumCourses

Last week, the National Microschooling Center facilitated a 45-minute demo of QuantumCourses for their member schools. It was completely unscripted—I just kind of opened up the course player and walked the founders through it … And I feel like I really hit the right notes capturing the essence of what makes our program work

One microschool founder who watched the recording shared this:
"I like the product a lot. It’s fun to see your passion for science! I’m interested in this for next school year."

I must also credit the NMC and the microschooling movement. Traditional schools won’t or can’t (at least I don’t think .. I’d love to be wrong .. our storefront is open!) buy our stuff. But if a microschool wants a highly enjoyable, academically challenging lab science program, with non-stops labs, rooted in riveting stories (to take a random example!) they can just make it so. Thanks NMC and school founders!

Take a moment and watch it here .. https://us02web.zoom.us/clips/share/aKcycILtR5qbB_X4JILMMg

Catherine Krett, the director of Micro School Leadership Development and supports at the National Micro Schooling Center, introduced the special guest, Michael Finnegan, the founder of Quantum Courses. Michael has been immersed in the out-of-system world for 15 years and has been an NMC member from....

01/15/2025

🎉 We’re honored to be recognized as a 2025 Top Modular Learning Program by Manisha Snoyer!

At QuantumCourses, our mission is to empower kids to truly embody science through hands-on learning. While seeing students thrive is our greatest reward, being selected from hundreds of programs is an incredible validation of our approach.

Curious about what makes QuantumCourses stand out? Read the full review here - https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/quantum-courses-review?rq=quantumcourses

💡 Thank you to Manisha Snoyer and everyone who supports our mission of inspiring the next generation of scientists!

Discover QuantumCourses, an interactive science program for grades 7–9, featuring hands-on experiments, flexible learning formats, and a discovery-driven curriculum.

01/07/2025

The microschool movement is redefining what’s possible in education, and we’re honored to be part of it.

Hundreds of microschool students nationwide are diving into science with QuantumCourses—a program designed specifically for microschools:

📦 Lab Supply Box: Everything you need for 50 hands-on labs, shipped straight to your school.
💻 Digital Course Player: Students explore the dramatic, exciting, historical development of science in a self-paced, student-led format.

That’s it—your students are off and running, learning science in a way that’s both fun and challenging.

Curious how it works? Drop us a message or visit www.QuantumCamp.com. Let’s transform science education together!

12/11/2024

🚀 2025 Science Starts Now! 🚀10 new microschools are already set to launch QuantumCourses in January—will yours be next?
🔬 Year-long, self-paced, hands-on science for grades 7-9
🧪 50+ labs rooted in history’s biggest breakthroughs
Whether you lead a microschool or homeschool, easily fold rigorous lab science into your academic week.
See available courses: https://www.quantumcamp.com/courses

11/20/2024

No one questions the value of hands-on science learning, but questions that we hear a lot are, "How can I teach science when I'm not a science teacher?" and "I don't have the budget or the facilities for *real* science. How can I offer this to my students without investing a lot of time or money?"

Here's a case study on how one TN microschool, Discovery Learners' Academy, and their fearless leader, Rachel Good, did exactly that.

IntroductionDiscovery Learners Academy (DLA) is a small, innovative micro school in Chattanooga, TN that reimagines education through a whole-child approach, emphasizing creativity, critical thinking, and flexibility in learning. Serving fewer than 100 students from PK-12th grade, DLA embraces a fle...

11/04/2024

America became a superpower in large part due to a well-educated populace. Investments in science education literally and figuratively propelled us to set foot on the moon! But today, our K-12 system isn’t meeting the mark—especially in science. Let’s renew our commitment to science literacy, critical thinking, and active engagement. 📊 By focusing on science education, we can continue to be the world leader in patents, innovations, and—most importantly—in kids having fun running science labs!

10/25/2024

We attended the first annual National Microschooling Center Summit in Las Vegas. And we learned that the future of non-traditional educational models is bright. Very bright. Learn more:

The Microschool RevolutionThe microschooling movement is nothing short of revolutionary. It’s diverse, dynamic, and driven by the belief that education should adapt to the needs of each individual student—something the traditional, one-size-fits-all model struggles to do. In most schools, there....

10/21/2024

We attended the first annual Summit in Las Vegas. And we learned that the future of non-traditional educational models is bright. Very bright. Learn more: https://wix.to/3KokCrN

10/10/2024

Curious to learn more about QuantumCourses, but want to truly understand how they could integrate with your unique learning environment? We're running a series of info sessions to do just that.

We'll cover:
- The philosophy behind hands-on learning through storytelling
- The use-case scenarios of other small schools
- Q&A and more

Check out the dates and reserve your spot today!

Join us for a free 30-minute info session to learn more about QuantumCourses and how they could be implemented in your school or learning environment.