CurioLabWho we are
About CurioLab
CurioLab is a nonprofit engineering program where students in grades 6–12 grow through ambitious projects, consistent mentorship, and increasingly greater independence.
Students begin with the fundamentals of designing, building, and programming. Over multiple semesters, they take on harder problems, develop ideas of their own, and learn how to turn those ideas into something real.
The program is delivered through university chapters, where university students serve as mentors, leaders, and builders of the organization alongside CurioLab's professional team.
Our mission
To help young people discover and develop what they are capable of.
We believe potential is not unlocked through a single class, project, or moment of inspiration. It develops when a young person receives sustained guidance, meaningful challenges, and the time to grow.
CurioLab creates that environment through long-term, near-peer mentorship. Students work alongside mentors who understand their progress, encourage them through difficulty, and gradually help them become more confident and independent.
Our mission extends to our university fellows as well. By mentoring students and helping operate a chapter, they develop as educators, engineers, leaders, and community builders.
How it works
Students grow one challenge at a time.
Every student enters the CurioLab Ladder and advances through three stages:
01
Explore
Students build foundational skills, learn how technical systems work, and complete guided projects with close mentor support.
02
Build
Students apply the skills and knowledge they have developed to complete a larger project with close guidance from their mentors.
03
Innovate
Students lead community projects of their own that solves a problem they identified. They work with greater autonomy and creativity, and is eligible to support their peers who are earlier in the journey.
Advancement is based on demonstrated readiness, not simply age or time spent in the program. Each stage builds on the last while giving students the support they need for their next challenge.
Our story
CurioLab began with a simple observation.
Many young people are curious about engineering and technology, but too few receive the sustained support needed to move beyond introductory activities.
A short workshop can create excitement. A tutorial can teach a new tool. But becoming someone who can independently approach a problem, work through uncertainty, and build a meaningful solution takes much longer.
CurioLab began at Case Western Reserve University to create that missing path. University mentors worked closely with younger students as they learned, experimented, made mistakes, and completed projects of their own.
What began as a local program is now becoming a chapter-based nonprofit. Case Western Reserve University serves as CurioLab's first chapter and the foundation for a model that can grow across universities and communities.
As CurioLab expands, the purpose remains the same: build lasting communities where young people are challenged, supported, and given the opportunity to grow beyond what they initially believed was possible.
We grow people who build
CurioLab is not only about producing projects.
It is about helping students become capable of creating them, and helping university fellows become the mentors and leaders who make that growth possible.