Lighting the Next Spark | 50 Years of Curious Kids
Why Give to EXPLO
For 50 years, EXPLO has helped curious middle schoolers find what lights them up. Here's why your gift matters now, and what it will build next.
Why Middle School Is the Moment That Matters
Middle school is the window. It's when identity takes shape, when tweens start asking who they are and who they want to be. They arrive from elementary school at the height of their engagement with learning, ready for deeper challenges, more independence, and new friendships. It's also the age when curiosity can start to fade if no one helps them hold onto it.
EXPLO meets students at exactly that moment. In a choice-rich, hands-on environment, they try the real work of doctors, engineers, journalists, and designers, and they choose their own path. Research by Dr. Peter Benson and Stanford's Dr. William Damon shows that young people who find their spark at this age have higher self-esteem, stronger academic performance, greater optimism, and a deeper sense of purpose. Those advantages follow them for decades.
That's what makes a gift to EXPLO high-leverage. Donors aren't funding a summer. They're helping 12-to-14-year-olds build their identities and find their spark.
Why Now: Building EXPLO's Next 50 Years
Fifty years ago, a handful of educators believed young people learn best when they get to choose, explore, and try things for themselves. That idea became EXPLO, and it has carried more than 90,000 students to their spark since.
Tuition built EXPLO, and it still covers the summer itself: the faculty, the programs, the experience. But tuition has limits. It can't bring a curious student to EXPLO when their family can't cover the cost, and it can't fund experiences that don't exist yet. Tuition sustains EXPLO. Your gift builds its future.
As we celebrate 50 years, we're asking donors to help us raise $250,000 as we take the first steps towards our three goals:
More access:
Grow financial aid so no student's participation depends on what their family can afford. Last year, more than 100 students asked EXPLO for aid we couldn't provide.
More exploration:
Build dozens of new immersive workshops and electives, giving students more chances to try something new and discover what lights them up.
Every year, curious students miss the chance to find out what excites them — because the right program doesn't exist yet, or because their family can't afford the tuition. This anniversary is our moment to close that gap. We're inviting you to help build it.
What Financial Aid Makes Possible
Every financial aid award is a student who gets the chance to find their spark. Meet a few of the students whose sparks were lit because someone chose to give.
EXPLO has changed my life and opened my eyes to so many new things... I can't thank the scholarship program enough for giving me this opportunity.
Shannon S.
EXPLO student
We are SO GRATEFUL for the scholarship Felicia received this year. EXPLO has been the most significant educational experience of her life, she says... We are very, very thankful for all you have done for us.
Lara K.
EXPLO parent
My takeaway is that I felt like family. It doesn't matter who you are—opportunities come to all—it's what you do with the opportunity given to you.
Connor S.
EXPLO student
Built for Curious Kids
- Our 16:1 student-to-teacher ratio in the classroom, and 8:1 campus-wide, means every student gets real attention, not just a seat in a room.
- Faculty that excite. Practicing professionals — doctors, engineers, artists, entrepreneurs — veteran middle school educators, and college mentors who bring energy and relatability teach EXPLO's courses: real experiential learning, from people who know how to light a spark.
- 50+ workshops and electives plus two focus programs, with dozens of new workshops and new electives coming this year — provide the range that lets every student find their own spark.
- Research-backed and age-specific: EXPLO meets students in the exact window — the middle school years — when research (Dr. Peter Benson; Stanford's Dr. William Damon) shows curiosity either gets reinforced or starts to fade.
|
Help Light the Next Spark
For 50 years, curious kids have found their spark at EXPLO. Your gift makes sure the next one does too.