Interested in getting involved?
Want to be a leader?
Want to join us in making a difference in science and science education
by being involved in one of the first high school student-led organization?

Are you an  I M A G I S C I E N T I S T ?


There are four different ways to get involved.
You can choose to seize one or more of the following opportunities!

01 Voice your OPINION
and share your thoughts on our on-going forum. Be included in the world-wide conversation. We have students from all over globe leaving comments! Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself immersed in a heated debate!

02 VOLUNTEER
and get rewarded from the Governor and the President for your service. We’re different from other adult-led organizations. Being students ourselves, we understand how hard it is to fit volunteer service in your schedule. So we’ve planned FUN volunteering activities that you can do and incorporated social media (yup, Facebook!) into our volunteering activities! We call it “gamified volunteering.” Click above to learn more.

03 Start a CHAPTER
and be a leader in your community. We make it easy for you to make a chapter at your school. We have pre-made materials that can be easily tailored to fit your school requirements and suggested schedules so that you don’t have to feel overwhelmed with planning. We want you to make a difference and kick off with a bang! As your school Chapter President, you will also become Imagiscience Ambassadors. You’ll be featured on our national website and get widespread recognition.

04 Join our EXECUTIVE TEAM
and join us in shaping one of the very first high school student-led non-profit organization. We are currently a group of 15+ teenagers from different high schools. We’re growing and growing (and getting invitations and recognitions along the way)! We are always looking for student leaders, so if you’re interested, let us know.

Frequently Asked Questions ————————————————————-

What is Imagiscience?
How do I start a chapter?
When can I start a chapter?
What do you do in a chapter and how do we get volunteer hours?
How do we report the volunteer hours?
What is the volunteer reward structure?
When do we get Volunteer Service Awards if we’ve earned them?
Our school doesn’t have Imagiscience Club. Can I volunteer as an individual?

 

What is Imagiscience?
We are a high school student-founded and led, non-profit organization, aimed to inspire youth’s interest in science. Have you heard about the “science education crisis?”

According to Microsoft, 80% of the jobs in the next decade will require education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); however only 16% of the students will earn a bachelor’s degree in STEM fields. This concerns us because our future demands STEM. This is perhaps the reason why leaders of today – including President Barack Obama – are so big on starting nationwide, governmental campaigns to improve participation and performance of America’s students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Click here to read about his campaigns.

Of course, educating the teachers and strengthening the curriculum are important, but we believe that STUDENTS should lead in inspiring other students interest in science, because we know what works and what doesn’t, what’s cool and what’s not, what’s effective and what’s not. We know what students want! Our goal is to inspire each and every student to lead the conversation in STEM, even if they’re not interested in STEM at all!

Like Red Cross, American Cancer Society, and Model United Nations, we have chapters created by student leaders in their local high schools. Within three weeks after incorporation, 15+ student leaders from all over the state of California has created Imagiscience Chapter in their local high schools. We are now expanding our chapter network to nation- and world-wide! Because Imagiscience is so new and different, student leaders are being able to not only make a difference in their community, but also stand out among their peers!

How do I start a chapter?
All you have to do is fill out an online form to let us know that you’re interested in making a chapter. When we receive the form, we will e-mail you back within a 1-3 days to ask you couple of basic questions about your school. We will then make some edits to our packet to tailor the materials to fit your school requirements and send it along to you. You’ll be ready to submit your school requirements in no time.

When can I start a chapter?
Depends on your school. Some schools open application for new clubs at the beginning of academic year, semester, or quarter. If your school deadline has passed, don’t worry. Just let us know that you’re interested as soon as you can so we can have you prepared for the next application deadline. Remember, we can only allow one Imagiscience Chapter per school, so let us know quickly so that we can save your spot!

What do you do in a chapter and how do we get volunteer hours?
There are four categories:

1. National Challenge
- All clubs are required to participate in bi-weekly National Challenges planned by Imagiscience National during club meetings
- National Challenges are updated on Google Calendar: www.bitly.com/imagisciencecalendar
- Reward: 3 hours per bi-weekly National Challenge

2. Club Meeting
- If your club members attend your school’s club meeting, they can receive volunteer hours
- Reward: 1 hour per club meetings

3. Community Service and Other Activities
- If your club does other activities as a club, such as volunteering at an elementary school, your club members can receive volunteer hours
- Reward: To be determined by your Club President

4. Independent Challenge
- There is a “Bank” of Independent Challenges club members can do by themselves at home, in case they need more hours for an award
- The “Bank” is available on Google Document: www.bitly.com/independentbank
- Reward: 5 or 10 hours per Independent Challenges

We shaped our volunteer structure so that student participation is more than enough to earn Bronze Presidential Service Award from President Barack Obama by the end of April. Yup, we are a certified organization (www.presidentialserviceawards.gov), and we want to reward you and your members.

Imagiscience strives to recognize chapters that go the extra mile through national features, nominations, and exclusive event invitations, so be proactive and enthusiastic!

How do we report the volunteer hours?
All club members are required to print out “Monthly Community Service Log.” Click here to download the [download id="7" format="1"]. Each member will be responsible for updating their log and getting Club President, Vice President, or Secretary’s signature of approval.

At the end of every month, Club Presidents should collect the logs and work with his/her Vice President, Secretary, or Community Service Representative to update online Volunteer Hour Google Doc. The Google Doc can only be edited by the President, Vice President, Secretary, or Community Service Representative. However, club members who want to find out how many hours they’ve accumulated can view the Google Doc as well. The Google Doc can only be edited by the President, Vice President, Secretary, or Community Service Representative. To access the Google Doc, go to: www.bitly.com/clubvolunteerhours. If you’re having problems accessing your online document, send us an email at student@imagiscience.org.

For individual members, record your hours through this form after every participation in Independent Challenges.

What is the volunteer reward structure?
Our current volunteer reward structure is the following:
25 hours Certificate of Recognition from Imagiscience
50 hours Letter of Recognition from the Governor
100 hours Presidential Volunteer Service Award, Bronze
175 hours Presidential Volunteer Service Award, Silver
250 hours Presidential Volunteer Service Award, Gold

When do we get Volunteer Service Awards if we’ve earned them?
The Presidential Service Award is given to “individuals, families, and groups that have demonstrated outstanding volunteer service and civic participation over the course of a 12-month period.” The 12-month period requirement is set by the White House. Our 12-month period starts every May and ends every June, because we realize that students earn the most volunteer hours during academic year. We total up your volunteer hours annually in May (e.g. hours from May 2012 to April 2013) after chapters and individuals submit their volunteer hours earned in April. So, the last chance for you to record your hours to qualify for Service Awards is May 1st. We will distribute all awards in June.

We realize that it is unfair for first-year Imagiscience chapter members, because they weren’t able to get full 12-month period. So, for first year members only, we are allowing them to continue building their volunteer hours until the next April.

Our school doesn’t have Imagiscience Club. Can I volunteer as an individual?
Yes! You can participate in any of our Independent Challenges. Each Independent Challenges are either 5 or 10-hours worth. So, if you do 20 5-hour Challenge or 10 10-hour Challenge independently, you are still qualified for Bronze Presidential Service Award!



Questions? Shoot our Student Development Committee an email at student@imagiscience.org!