The EVOLUTIONS After School Program
at the Yale Peabody Museum

For Parents and Educators

What Is EVOLUTIONS?

The EVOLUTIONS After School Program is a club for students with an interest in science and who are serious about their future. The curriculum places a primary focus on college preparation, career awareness, science literacy, transferable skills development and social awareness. Watch the EVO movie! CLICK HERE

Our mission is “to establish a community of socially and environmentally minded citizens equipped with the scientific literacy and broad-gauge skills to achieve in school and beyond.”

Though most of the teaching is conducted by program staff, we also solicit help from Museum staff and researchers, as well as Yale staff and faculty. Over the course of the year students will work on group projects, go behind the scenes at the Yale Peabody Museum, have the opportunity to join one of our many committees, visit Yale science research facilities and go on field trips. In 2005–2006 we visited the Boston Museum of Science, Ground Zero in New York City and 5 universities, including New York University, the University of Rhode Island, Brown, Harvard and MIT.

Who Is EVOLUTIONS?

The EVOLUTIONS After School Program is for 8th to 12th grade students in the New Haven Public School System* and is totally free! Students don’t need to have good grades to be in EVOLUTIONS, but they do need to be mature and responsible enough to make a commitment to the program and the other members of their team.

In 2005–2006, students were recruited from the following schools:

• Hill Regional Career High School
  
• Celentano School
  
• Clemente Leadership Academy
  
• Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School
  
• East Rock Magnet School
  
• Edgewood Magnet School
  
• Hill Central Music Academy
  
• John S. Martinez School
  
• New Haven Academy
  
• Sound School
  
• Troup Magnet Academy of Science
  
• Wilbur Cross High School
  

*For logistical reasons, we only recruit from schools that release students by 3:00 p.m.


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How Does It Work?

EVOLUTIONS members meet at the Yale Peabody Museum from after school to 5:30 p.m., 1 to 2 times every week during the school year. Members typically get to the Museum 1 of 4 ways:

• Walk, if their school is close enough
  
• Take a school bus from their school, which we will help to arrange
  
• Catch the Yale Shuttle Bus, if their school is on the shuttle route (FREE)
  
• Ride a New Haven City Bus, we will give them passes (FREE)
  

Though some students use public transportation to get home, most are picked up by their parents at 5:30 p.m.

Why Should Your Student(s) Join?

First, and most of all, this program exists to help them explore careers and college and provide them with the skills they need to be successful. In addition, all students who successfully complete the EVOLUTIONS After School Program receive some form of academic credit at their schools (at least everyone has so far). High school students receive independent study credit, community service credit and/or supervised occupational credit (SOE credit; Sound School only). Middle school students receive high school independent study credit. Finally, at the end of the program students receive a letter of recommendation on Yale letterhead intended for use in job and college applications.


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The Specs

Meeting Location and Days

All meetings will be held at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. The day that students will meet at the Peabody will depend on what grade they are in:

• 8th graders meet on Thursdays
  
• High schoolers meet on Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday
  (there are limited spots in Friday’s class)

On Mondays, all students in all classes are invited to the Museum to participate in one or more of the EVO committees:

• Newsletter committee
  
• Fundraising committee
  
• Community service committee
  

OR students can get help with homework from one of our Yale students
OR they can just hang out!

Hours

We meet from right after school until 5:30 pm.

Staff

King and Court Jester: Jamie Alonzo
(aka Dr. EVO; program director and
head of student fundraising committee)

Royal Advisor: Tom Hegna (Yale graduate student)

Evil Henchmen / Henchwomen
(Yale undergraduates):

• Brad Milam (Tuesday mentor)
  
• Jen Hernandez (Wednesday mentor and
  head of student community service committee)
  
• Alex Weinstein (Thursday mentor and
  head of student newsletter committee)
  
• Emily Finn (Friday mentor and program assistant)
  
• Leah Jones (Monday tutor)
  
• Jeff Brown (Monday tutor)
  

The EVOLUTIONS Podcast
The EVOLUTIONS Newsletter
Photo Galleries: 2004–2005 | 2005–2006

Download the Application Packet for 2007–2008 [417KB PDF]


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