Youth Organizations

Future Scientists and Engineers of America (FSEA) is a national nonprofit organization of elementary, middle, and secondary school science clubs. The FSEA aims to identify, motivate, and inspire young girls and boys who have the potential to become scientists, engineers, and science teachers and give them the opportunity to experience science and technology through challenging, interesting, and fun science projects.

Program

FSEA clubs are organized to give students an opportunity to meet and benefit from sharing scientific interests and abilities. Each club is a scientific community in miniature and is free to develop a program most suited to the interests and needs of its members. FSEA projects are designed to stimulate interest in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology and to train students in techniques of innovation and creativity, problem solving, and trial and error to achieve a stated objective. Most projects are handson and team oriented; projects can take anywhere from several hours to an entire semester to complete. Club members can design their own projects or they can use an FSEA-designed project. The national FSEA office provides materials and directions for almost fifty projects for different age levels.

Some projects are simple, such as the Model Airplane, where teams of two students learn about aerodynamics by building and testing a rubberband-powered model airplane; and the Marble Slide, by which students experiment with potential and kinetic energy by rolling marbles down different types of inclines. Other projects are more advanced, including the Earthquake Tower, where teams of two students learn about drafting and engineering by designing and building a thirty-inch wooden tower that can withstand a simulated earthquake; and the Land Yacht, where teams build a vehicle that will move as far and fast as possible in the wind produced by a fan.

The national FSEA office conducts workshops for science teachers, parents, and sponsors who want to organize a science club in their local school or want training in how to help students successfully complete advanced FSEA projects. The FSEA also issues an extensive list of volunteer science and technology experts who can answer questions and help students complete difficult projects.

Organization

FSEA clubs are organized in elementary, middle, and high schools that have agreed to sponsor the club as a sanctioned school activity. As such the school provides a room for club meetings and for storage of materials, as well as a teacher to lead the club. Clubs usually consists of about twenty-five members and can include students from several grade levels. Elementary school clubs start in the fourth grade. Most FSEA clubs also include parent advisers and volunteer mentors. Ideally, mentors will be professional or retired engineers or scientists, or college students majoring in the sciences. Local clubs are organized into regions, headed by a volunteer regional director. The FSEA national headquarters has a small staff that helps new clubs get started, provides training for advisers and mentors, designs new science projects, and ships project materials and manuals to local clubs.

Membership

FSEA membership is open to all boys and girls from the fourth through twelfth grade who are interested in science and technology. Membership dues are $5 per year, with the parents, school, or private sponsors contributing an additional $60 per student each year to pay for program materials. That fee covers costs for up to five projects for each student each year. Many clubs organize fund-raisers, such as bake sales or car washes, to help pay program fees.

History

The FSEA was founded in 1989 by George Westrom, a rocket scientist and science educator. In 2001 there were FSEA clubs in hundreds of schools across the United States.