Headwaters Science Institute

Fostering curiosity through science

What’s New

We are hiring!

Headwaters is hiring a program coordinator. Please help us spread the word and find the right candidate by sharing our job post with your friends, family, and colleagues!

Virtual Field Notes From Headwaters’ Research Experience and Digital Data Science Camp

Summer Research Experience For eight weeks this summer, 26 students participated in the Headwaters Summer Research Experience, going through the scientific process. With topics ranging from electric vehicles to ant behavior, these students worked hard all summer long...

Fall Fundraiser 2023

Charitable donations from the Headwaters community help more students discover hands-on science If you can help further our mission through a donation, any amount you give allows us to continue offering experiential science education to more students. We are always...

Inspiring Women Mentor Headwaters Students

Headwaters Science Institute is proud to connect our students with science mentors in many of our programs. And on International Women’s Day, introducing some of the incredible women who are passionate about inspiring the next generation of scientists. These women are...

The Importance of Mentorship

Mentorship is often an important part of any budding career, but many professionals across sectors stay in contact with mentors and mentees throughout their careers as a source of ideas, insight, and inspiration. For a student just starting their journey in the world...

 Who We Are

We are educators, scientists, and community members with a mission to foster curiosity through science. We engage students’ natural curiosity, guiding them to design and perform experiments that answer their own questions through the scientific method. We call this process Student Driven Research.

What We Do

We aim to create informed citizens who not only pursue science careers, but blossom when faced with opportunities to positively impact society through engagement, curiosity, and applications of the scientific method. To do this, we teach programs for science classes at schools, at our northern California field site, and online

For Students & Parents:

Online Learning

Staying active through learning online is vital while traditional schools are closed. Experience the same hands-on techniques we teach in person through virtual science lessons.

About Our Programs

We teach students the scientific method through hands-on learning at schools and at our field site in Northern California.

Science Camps

To address the challenges of COVID-19, we offer immersive opportunites to learn science, mentored by professional scientists through online programs that are doable from home. 

For Educators:

Online and Hybrid Programs

To meet the challenges of COVID-19, we offer programs based around hands-on learning that still inspire curiosity but are delivered entirely online, or as a partial-online format.

Program Overview

Our programs teach the scientific method through a hands-on approach that’s based on student inquiry, and designed to meet NGSS standards. 

Overnight Programs

An immersive 3-5 day experience on Donner Summit in Northern California. Students learn science by designing their own research projects and collecting data in the field.

At School Programs

Programs at your school or at a nearby field site allow students to experience real-world examples of science concepts, while learning how to design their own research project.

Professional Development

Our commitment to learning extends to teachers. We provide hands-on training on our Student Driven Research methods to educators to allow them to continue teaching these concepts.

 “This camp sparked an interest in science in me that I have never felt in my life.”

“I can’t put it into words how thankful I am for being sponsored to go to the Headwaters Girls Science Camp. At this camp, I learned how science is everywhere, even when you don’t suspect it. I also learned how important it is to increase the number of women in the science fields and the impact that women have in science. This camp has really opened my eyes to the science fields and has helped me realized that science can play a big role in selecting my career.”

Ashley Alarcon, Girls Summer Science Camp Scholarship Recipient 2019

Apart from the free survey software, we also have access to QuestionPro’s free survey templates. We’ve found many of them useful and powerful to collect insights from various stakeholders of our organization.

 More Ways to Get Involved