GUTS Club at sfX

Project GUTS — Growing Up Thinking Scientifically — has added Santa Fe Complex as a host for its after-school science, technology, engineering and math programs. Beginning Friday, December 5, the youth education program will meet at the complex from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.
GUTS is a summer and after-school science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) project for middle school students based in Santa Fe, New Mexico and serving northern New Mexico. Growing up thinking scientifically means learning to look at the world and ask questions, develop answers to the questions through scientific inquiry, and design solutions to their problems. Project GUTS is hosted by the Santa Fe Institute and is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, the Bengier Foundation, the Los Alamos National Bank, and by private donors.

GUTS students research fields from epidemiology to traffic flow, pollution and ecosystems. They learn to use technology to explore real-world problems and analyze them with scientific tools. Students share their experiments and findings to advise local decision-makers and inform fellow students. Project GUTS also helps them explore careers in science, technology, and engineering while developing their computer skills and giving them access to the very latest technology.

One hundred and sixty-seven middle school youth participated in Project GUTS in the 2007-2008 school year. They came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, as seen in the chart at right. According to an end-of-year survey, 70% of the students enjoyed Project Guts while only 10% disliked the program.

For more information on Project GUTS, visit the program’s website.