Stem Paths Innovation Network

08/20/2026

In June, we celebrated our graduating SPIN Fellows. Before they headed off, the seniors reflect on their years in the program and what SPIN means to them.

🎓 Here’s what they had to say: https://youtu.be/77edqOwIqXc

These Fellows spent their middle and high school years with us, learning about sustainable fashion and women-owned business at TomboyX, game development at Halo Studios, and engineering and aerospace at Blue Origin. Once a month, they came together to buckle down on college and career plans in a room full of people just as driven as they are.

Time in those spaces, alongside women and BIPOC mentors and STEM professionals, helped this STEM Fellows cohort build the confidence, skills, and sense of purpose they need to become future STEM industry leaders.

"I wasn't really outspoken. I had a harder time talking to people, and I kept mostly to myself. But then I walked into the SPIN HQ, and I could feel my worries start to melt away."

"SPIN to me at that very moment felt like girlhood. It was fun, it was smart, it was genuine, it was kind."

One Fellow arrived planning to become an English teacher and left with her sights set on STEM. Another was invited to lead a cohort, teaching the same community that helped build her up.

"It's just so inspiring to know that there are girls that look like us, that are just as kind, that are going to do amazing things."

Congratulations to our graduating Fellows. Applications for our next cohort are open at stempaths.org/spin-forward

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08/19/2026

Save the date - SPIN is heading back to school with you!

Join us Saturday, October 3rd from 2-4pm at TAF Bethaday (605 SW 108th St, Seattle) for SPIN It Back, our Back to School Celebration. It's a free, family-friendly afternoon built for kids of all ages, with three hands-on stations to explore: Dashbots, where you program mini robots through an obstacle course; Lego Build a School, a giant collaborative build where kids design their dream school; and a collective STEM themed art project.

You'll also hear directly from our SPIN program managers about what's planned for the school year, and from SPIN students themselves.

Whether you're bringing the kids, cheering on SPIN, or just curious how it all connects, come see our K-12 programming in action - from a first grader's first robot to college and career prep for our oldest students.

RSVP here: bit.ly/spinitback26. We can't wait to SPIN it back with you!

08/15/2026

Summer camp’s over, and SPIN Enrich had an incredible season. Over 500 elementary students across 30 classrooms spent their summer with us at seven schools in Seattle and Renton, including West Seattle, Baldwin, Kimball, John Muir, and Beacon Hill, plus Cascade Vista and Highland Park.

Every classroom started the same way: a week of building community and co-creating classroom charters, with instructors learning each student's name and story before diving into content. From there, it was straight into hands-on engineering. Campers built habitats, solar ovens, zip lines and marble runs, and tested towers to see how much weight they could hold. No worksheets, just problem-solving.

Many of our instructors were working with students for the very first time this summer. They did a commendable job learning classroom management, and finding that balance between being firm on expectations while still keeping things fun.

We’re grateful for our continued partnership with Seattle Public Schools, who trust us to bring scalable, culturally relevant, and genuinely fun STEM programming to their students every summer. The school year is almost here, and there's a lot on the horizon.

08/11/2026

Are you a girl or gender-expansive student entering grades 6-10 in King County, curious about STEM + Arts? SPIN Forward is recruiting scholars for our program launching this September.

When youth show up to SPIN Forward on a Saturday, they're getting the support and mentorship to become next generation STEM industry leaders.

Scholars spend the year building toward a Capstone project of their own choosing, visiting real STEM workplaces on Field Days, from Blue Origin and Fred Hutch to Halo Studios, and working one-on-one with women of color STEM professionals who mentor them along the way. That kind of exposure changes what scholars believe is possible for themselves.

As one recent SPIN Forward alumni put it, looking back on her years in the program: "Spin to me felt like girlhood. It was fun, it was smart, it was genuine, it was kind."

Want to join us this fall? No cost, no experience needed, just curiosity.

Scan the QR code or head to stempaths.org/spin-forward to register today.

07/14/2026

🔬 Calling women and gender-expansive professionals in STEM! 🔬

SPIN Forward is recruiting mentors for the 2026–27 school year, and you might be exactly who we're looking for. 💛

You don't need to be a teacher. You don't need mentoring experience. You just need a willingness to show up and share your journey. We especially encourage mentors who share lived experience with our youth.

Our scholars — girls and gender-expansive youth entering grades 6–10 across King County — meet 12 Saturdays a year for hands-on Lab Days, Field Days at STEM partner sites, and a Capstone project tackling real-world challenges. We have a focus on serving youth of color, but all are welcome.

Mentors are at the heart of it all! You'll be paired with a grade-based cohort to share your career story, join Lab and Field Days, and help scholars set goals and explore what's possible.

Because when students see mentors who share their identities thriving in STEM, the path forward stops being abstract and starts being possible. ✨

Interested, or know someone who'd be great? Apply here: https://www.stempaths.org/mentors

Please share far and wide! 🌎

07/08/2026

SPIN is heading to the South King County Employer Summit on Thursday, July 16th at the Accesso ShoWare Center — and we're bringing questions.

Katherine Barr, SPIN's Executive Director of Operations, is moderating the Employer Roundtable: "What's Keeping Business Leaders Up at Night?" This candid discussion will delve into the real challenges Kent Valley employers are facing right now: hiring struggles, growth, economic uncertainty, AI, retention, and the big one for us — how we can work together to make sure

STEM industry jobs in South King County go to the people who live here.

This is exactly the kind of room SPIN wants to be in. Our K-12 programming provides South King County BIPOC youth and girls with a clear path from the classroom to a STEM career, right here at home. We're excited to partner with industry leaders to nurture the next generation of talent by closing the gap between STEM education and industry careers.

Thanks to the Kent Chamber of Commerce for hosting. The event is from 12:30pm-4pm, be sure to arrive by 2:30pm for our roundtable.

Register here: https://info.kentchamber.com/events/details/business-expo-south-king-county-employer-summit-251696?calendarMonth=2026-07-01

06/29/2026

Today is the first day of summer programming for our SPIN Enrich elementary program at our Seattle Public Schools, including Baldwin, West Seattle, John Muir, and Kimball Elementary Schools!

SPIN Enrich brings hands-on STEM learning to elementary students through projects that make science active, creative, and fun. Recent projects have included comparing the rates at which Skittles dissolve in vinegar versus hot water to explore how different liquids and temperatures affect the way materials mix and change. It is the kind of colorful, curiosity-driven learning that helps students practice observation, comparison, problem-solving, and scientific thinking in real time.

We’re grateful for our partnership with Seattle Public Schools, which allows us to keep showing up for students beyond the regular school year and create more time for joyful, hands-on learning.

We can’t wait to spend the summer experimenting, building, asking questions, and discovering together.

06/27/2026

What starts with a catapult can become confidence.

At James Baldwin Community Learning Center, SPIN brings hands-on STEM and STEAM learning to students after school, from Minecraft Club to robotics, 3D printing, and STEAM Exploration.

For one second-grade girl, SPIN has become a place where she feels excited, supported, and proud of what she can build.

She is one of the few girls in her STEAM club this quarter, and with encouragement from her SPIN instructor, Grace, she has found a place to stay curious, try new things, and feel like she belongs.

That matters.

Because young women belong in STEM careers.

And belonging starts early.

SPIN is a great program to support because it gives students access to high-quality STEM learning beyond the school day, with instructors who care, curriculum that engages, and partnerships that help more students participate.

As Rebecca Brito from James Baldwin Community Learning Center shared, SPIN is “not just a contractor… [but] a high quality programming partner.”

This is where it starts. ✨

06/25/2026

Congratulations to our Young Entrepreneurs Project (YEP) students on finishing another incredible year! Last Thursday, we celebrated the end of YEP Year 5 at Cleveland High School with a graduation celebration for the ages.

At its heart, YEP helps students build confidence and find genuine pathways toward their futures through entrepreneurship, job training, internships, and creative projects that foster career readiness. This year’s students stayed curious when the work got hard and took real chances on themselves and their ideas. We couldn't be prouder of all that they’ve accomplished!

The celebration was a perfect way to close out the year: students, families, and staff came together for an evening that included a video game truck, ice cream, and a whole lot of laughter. It was the kind of ending this cohort deserved.

Huge shoutout to Program Manager Joseph Phillips for the care and consistency he brings to YEP day in and day out. Joseph shows up for students in the ways that matter most, building a space where young people feel genuinely supported and seen.

We're proud of our Year 5 graduates, grateful for Joseph's leadership and everyone who made this year possible, and looking forward to welcoming the next cohort at Cleveland High School.

06/19/2026

Today is Juneteenth.

At SPIN, we are thinking about freedom in a very practical way: the freedom for Black students to see themselves in STEM, to ask big questions, to build things with their hands, to test ideas, and to be taken seriously.

Black excellence is not an abstract idea. We see it when students present capstone projects, explain their research, lead with curiosity, and start to picture themselves as scientists, engineers, coders, designers, and problem-solvers.

And it shows up in the numbers: last year, 100% of SPIN students said they came to know more role models who look like them in STEM, and 86% gained new confidence to succeed in it. That is what we want more of: STEM pathways where Black students are not treated like exceptions. They belong here. Their questions belong here. Their leadership belongs here.

Today we celebrate Juneteenth, Black excellence, and the students who are already building what comes next.