This Partnership Will Make Young Creators Into Innovators

The Boy Scouts of America Brings Hands-On Learning to New Audiences through Innovative Collaboration Pilot

The Boy Scouts of America’s Exploring program is teaming up with Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) and Maker Ed to bring the popular maker movement to more youth across the country by introducing Maker Exploring posts. The posts will be “maker hubs,” featuring hands-on, STEM-focused activities designed to foster creativity and problem-solving skills among youth. Initial launches in four pilot markets – Austin, Detroit, Chicago and San Diego – are planned for 2017.

Exploring is a career education program for young men and women that aims to shape the workforce of tomorrow by engaging and mentoring today’s youth in career and life-enhancing opportunities. The program comes to life through Exploring posts that businesses and community organizations initiate by matching their people and program resources to the interests of young people in the community. The result is a program of activities that helps youth pursue, grow and develop career opportunities, life skills, citizenship, character education, and leadership experience.

“Whether through real-life career experiences in Exploring, in the lab setting for STEM Scouts or in the great outdoors through traditional Scouting, we believe in the power of hands-on learning experiences,” said Michael Surbaugh, Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America. “Partnering with Cognizant and Maker Ed to encourage more youth participation in the maker movement is a natural fit for our organizations to inspire ingenuity in tomorrow’s leaders.”

The Maker Exploring posts will leverage the format and structure of Maker Ed’s Young Makers program. Cognizant, a leading global technology company will sponsor each of the posts and engage employee volunteers to act as youth mentors to provide real-world perspectives into technology careers. Youth who develop projects at Maker Exploring posts will have opportunities to showcase their work at Maker Faires throughout the United States.

For the complete story on this partnership, please read the full press release on Scouting Newsroom.