Youth Groups & Teen Programs

Youth Groups & Teen Programs includes Teen Innovation, a free six-week summer program for youths that offers work at the Science Center. It also includes the Teen Advisory Council, a teen-driven community focused on leadership, change, and awareness about teen programs, plus Investigate!, which invites teens to explore in-depth STEM areas not typically covered in school. Teen Science Cafe is a traveling program for middle and high school students, and Investigate! Career Academy Series is a traveling program recommended for students in 6th-12th grades.

Programs

• Youth Groups & Teen Programs — middle and high school students; teens; ages 6-18 were provided in the prompt, but the source explicitly says middle and high school students and students of all ages for youth groups
• Teen Innovation — teens; youths (primarily from under-resourced communities in Connecticut) · A free program providing youths the opportunity to work at the Science Center over six weeks in the summer.
• Teen Advisory Council — teens · A teen-driven community that stands to uphold leadership, promote change, and raise awareness about teen programs.
• Investigate! — teens · Encourages teens interested in science to explore engaging in-depth STEM areas typically not covered in school.
• Teen Science Cafe — middle and high school students · $2,000 · Traveling program for middle and high school students; program fee covers 8 sessions at $250/session. Event budget recommended: $500.
• Investigate! Career Academy Series — recommended for students in 6th-12th grades · Traveling program with a 45-60 minute session. Price listed as $325 per program, plus travel.

At a glance

• Ages: 6–18 years old
• Price range: $2,000

About the provider

Justin Riley is the Teen Programs Manager and STEM Educator at the Connecticut Science Center. Since opening in 2001, the Connecticut Science Center has been on a mission to ignite curiosity, fuel innovation, and be a hub for scientific discovery. The Teen Advisory Council is a teen-driven community, and Teen Innovation hosted 30 students from the Greater Hartford Region last year and two high school interns from Hartford Public High School's ReadyCT Pathways Program.

Teen Innovation is free. To be eligible to apply for Teen Innovation in the summer, teens must complete one full session of the Science Center’s Investigate! program or be a part of the Teen Advisory Council for one full school year. Teen Advisory Council applications are available for the 2025-2026 school year. After-hours surcharge: $100 flat fee applies to programs booked outside normal operating hours, on weekends, or on select holidays.

Last updated October 31, 2026.