The Stem Guild is an entrepreneurial endeavor that Megan Peralez came up with. Despite the north side of the greater twin cities having a population of over half a million people, Megan noticed a distinct lack of opportunities for families to engage in STEM activities. Here at the STEM Guild, we believe Science and Engineering should be as available as youth sports clubs. In 2024 we aim to offer the Curiosity Cafe consistently throughout the year and work towards our bigger mission of having a permanent location in Maple Grove someday. You shouldn't have to travel into downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul every time you want to play in a science or engineering lab.
The Stem Guild aims to offer hands-on experiments in the main branches of science in 3 key ways:
The Cafe, the Garage, and the Living Lab.
Cafe
Garage
Living Lab
The Curiosity Cafeis set up like a resturant, but instead of food, it offers experiments for familes to do together! Look at the menu and choose which experiments you would like to do together. The Cafe is phase 1 of the STEM Guild and will be launched in the Summer of 2023 as a pop-up activity in multiple locations throughout the summer.
The Makerspace Garage is a space designed for young makers and builders. This program will focus on engineering and offer youth the chance to design projects they imagine themselves. This is Phase 2 of the STEM Guild and the pilot program will operate as an extracurricular similar to a karate or dance studio: drop off your child to practice engineering techniques a couple times a week.
The Living Lab is an environmental education initiative focused on teaching citizen science in tandem with an artistic approach to understanding the world around us. This is phase 3 of The STEM guild and the pilot program will focus on clubs and classes based on topics like Art in Nature, my house and the River, Outerspace, and more.
The STEM Guild
Meet me
Megan is an enthusiastic science educator with a passion to teach STEM and environmental education in new and innovative ways. She is driven by her desire to make science relevant and interesting and aims to inspire the next generation of children to explore the wonders of the world around them.
​
After leaving Texas to go to college in Maine, she started her professional journey as a hands-on educator at a small science museum in Illinois. There she became well-known within the community for her exciting children's science shows and developed several innovative programs including the Curiosity Cafe (formerly known as the Chemistry Cafe). In 2021 she moved to Minnesota and has had the joy of working as a naturalist at Eastman Nature Center for the last 3 summers.
Megan has a unique ability to make complex subjects both relatable and entertaining to families and grade school youth. Megan continues to spark curiosity, create meaningful experiences, and shape the future of science education.
Join the Guild to stay up to date
Dont want to miss our monthly events?
Sign up to get info about when and where we will be next!