Main Chapter

DC, Maryland, Virginia

BranchOut! started as a peer STEM mentoring program in 2015, working at the community centers, family shelters, and county summer credit recovery programs, and has expanded into a community outreach program to promote cross-cultural understanding by featuring community heroes, creating research articles, and organizing career panels.

BranchOut! is founded by Harvard and MIT alumni, and has developed collaboration with Fairfax County Public Schools (VA), Montgomery County Public Schools (MD), the Department of Neighborhood and Community Service (VA), and Howard County Public Schools (MD). As we are always developing, we started a new chapter in the Greater Boston Area in addition to the Howard County (MD) chapter. As an award-winning community engagement program, we have received endorsement from US Congress, including Senator Tim Kaine (VA), Congressperson Andy Kim (NJ) and then Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (VA), and then Governor Ralph Northam (VA) as well as state delegates and school board members. Additionally, our youth innovator program won the US Congressional App Challenge award.

With BranchOut! you will...

Discover meaningful opportunities to serve your community
Gain valuable skills in communication, leadership, and professionalism
Earn service hours
Make a difference in the experiences of the people you serve
Access BranchOut! virtual programs including Explorer Magazine and Innovator

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Innovator

App Development

Learn more about Innovator

BranchOut! Innovator is a Congressional Award-winning application development program. We strive to create software to benefit the community at large. In this way, Innovator offers students a great opportunity to apply their computer science, artistic, and many other skills to work closely together in a team to achieve this goal..

SOLve is an app developed by the Innovator team and currently has topics ranging from math to English, covering grades 3-9. The application functions by simulating similar questions and features that are seen in a standard SOL. The SOL is a standardized yearly test that all students in grades 3-12 take in Virginia. We expect this app to be able to adhere to the education standards of multiple states.

STEAM Camp

STEAM Mentoring

The STEAM CAMP provides our BranchOut! mentors the opportunity to facilitate younger children to discover their interest in STEAM through entertaining activities such as STEAM games, mentoring, or both! Our activities include building the tallest paper towers, creating weight-bearing bridges out of popsicle sticks, mini quiz bowl, jeopardy, physics experiments to introduce basic Newton’s laws, and more!

Learn more about the STEAM Camp

The Explorer

Journalism

The purpose of the Explorer program is to connect students and youth from around the world. We do this by exploring broad topics that connect everyone, regardless of culture, border, or age. The Explorer publishes, writes, and finds stories from across the world to share on these topics, finding common ground and celebrating our differences. Volunteers gain experience in journalism and teamwork skills.

Learn more about it