Exploring Science Research Opportunities for High School Students in Contra Costa County

The Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) provides a wealth of learning opportunities to help improve science education for all students. Programs include science workshops, networking meetings, and personalized programs. The Marine Mammal Center offers an internship at a Bay Area high school called Youth Crew for students aged 15 to 18 who are interested in volunteering. The typical participating student will attend school in the morning and then work on a corporate internship from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Eligible applicants are current high school students aged 16 or older who identify as autistic and who have completed algebra and at least one year of a physical science course. Instead, HIP seeks students who want to develop a sense of belonging to science and expand their ideas about universities and careers in the biomedical sciences. The Bay Area Youth Science Program (BAYS) is an eight-week paid summer internship for third and final year high school students at the KIPP San Francisco College Preparatory (KIPP-SFCP). The Introduction to Climate Solutions internship is a 7-week program designed for high school students from underrepresented groups in the field of STEM who are interested in science and concerned about the impact of humans on wildlife and land.

The Berkeley Laboratory Directors Apprenticeship Program (BLDAP) is a paid six-week program for 10th and 11th grade public school students from Alameda, San Francisco and West Contra Costa counties who are starting out in STEM research and have no previous experience. Stanford's Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging (AIMI) offers an annual summer research internship for high school students interested in exploring the technical and clinical aspects of AI in healthcare. While the program is currently limited to KIPP-SFCP students, over time it expects to reach more schools in the Bay Area, so we recommend that you check the site periodically. The Lawrence Science Hall Teen Internship Program is a 4-month internship that provides high school students with the opportunity to gain practical skills, knowledge, and tools to facilitate hands-on science learning for young people.

The UCSC Scientific Internship Program (SIP) provides high school students with the opportunity to spend a summer participating in authentic and open scientific research projects under the mentoring of UCSC professors. Postdocs and doctoral students will participate in professional workshops, including science learning and teaching, leadership and conflict resolution. The San Francisco Bay Area (which includes San Francisco Bay and the surrounding counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma) is one of the best regions to find high school internships in the United States. These institutions and facilities can offer high school internships in the Bay Area focusing on scientific research in various areas such as biotechnology, medicine, and defense.

Jocelyn Beutel
Jocelyn Beutel

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