We offer credits towards other programs for cancelations within two weeks of the scheduled start of an event or program series. Notification of cancelling must be in writing prior to two weeks of a program start date for credit to be applied. Credits for classes can only be applied to classes that aren’t fully booked to capacity 7 days prior to the start of classes. Because it is logistically difficult for us to offer makeup classes, we are generally unable to offer makeups.

A. Currently all our programs are traveling programs and are hosted in partnership with schools and community organizations. Check out our upcoming public events and programs page for information on our offerings are open to the general public.

A. Our programs are designed for students to experience the joy of doing STEAM activities that are very rewarding in a group setting. Respect is at the core of creating a positive environment in our programs. We expect students to be respectful of themselves, each other, our staff, our materials and our host sites. It’s ok make occasional mild behavior mistakes in our programs , but it is our expectation that students will be able help foster a positive environment in our programs. Students that can generally comply with staff direction, follow safety procedures and respond well to positive limit setting are welcome to participate. We want your child/children to be successful in our programs and we will try to help them succeed, but for repeated incidents of disrespect or misbehavior during Innovation for Youth programs we reserve the right to dismiss participants from our programs without refund.

A. Our goal is to be able to offer programs to people of all abilities and we have had fantastic success in presenting our programs to people with developmental and physical challenges. That said, we try to be thoughtful about the different needs of the participants in our classes and that there is enough assistance available. Some of our classes have protocols that must be followed to ensure everyone’s safety. Participation in Innovation for Youth classes is contingent on being able to follow safety procedures and to being reasonably compliant to verbal limit setting by our instructional staff.
Please contact us about you or your child’s needs to we can evaluate is the program is appropriate and what kinds of accommodations or supports could be put into place. In some cases we might require that parents pay for the cost of providing an one-on-one aide. Though we do need to reserve the right to refuse offering our services in some cases, we try to exercise that right sparingly and offer customized programs that are as inclusive as possible.

A. The school districts and organizations that host our programs have different policies around who may participate in helping students during classes and Innovation for Youth must defer to those guidelines. Our general philosophy is that offering enriching S.T.E.A.M. programs is a “team sport” and our young ones can benefit in numerous ways from having thoughtful assistance and guidance during our lessons. As well, we bring lots of equipment to our classes and our instructors appreciate an extra pair of help with setup and cleanup of materials. Please see our article on how to be a thoughtful volunteer assistant in one of our classes.

A. Sibling discounts are mostly at the discretion of the policies of our hosting organizations. Our general policy is to offer limited numbers of reduced tuition discounts to our students based on a family’s particular situation. Please talk to us if you would like to apply for a fee reduction for participation.

A. At this time, there are no prerequisites for our classes for elementary school and middle school programs. .For our teen and young adult mentorship program, certain projects may require particular skills, so check our posting about the upcoming projects to see the prerequisites

A. We are not able to offer before-care or after-care for our programs currently, so please be diligent about picking up your child on time. If there is an emergency or you know you will be late, please notify our staff. We will apply a $1-per-minute fee for tardy pickups.

A. Close-toed shoes are required for safety reasons. Since our activities can be messy, dress in clothes that you won’t mind coming home stained. Books, toys that are a distraction should be kept in backpacks. Mobile phone can also be a distraction and should be put away except for urgent matters. Please leave handheld video games at home.