COMPUTER CLUBHOUSE
Gail Breslow, Director
The Computer Museum
300 Congress St.
Boston, Mass. 02210
617-426-2800 Ext 421
E-mail: breslow@tcm.org
Web: http://www.computerclubhouse.org

This story really should begin with with three young fellows I met here named Ruby, and Steve, and Nat. Ruby's a tall, polite young man, soft-spoken but confident, whose fingers fly over the computer keys like a concert pianist and who can make the professional computer graphics program called Photoshop turn out pictures that look like they belong in a museum.

STEVE

Steve, a slender teenager with goggles cocked over his eyebrow and a winning smile, is already a Web-master, who's created a stunning World Wide Web page that showcases his own first-rate sketches and poetry. Nat? Airplanes are his top interest, and he's your man if you need someone to rove the Internet and bring back any detail about aircraft, flight or flying.

These youngsters, and a dozen more, were hanging out at Boston's Computer Clubhouse one recent summer afternoon (June 26, 1998), doing the things you do there ... talking with their pals ... checking out the Web ... writing a little computer code, creating remarkable computer art, and, not concidentally, setting themselves on the road toward serious education and high-skill careers.

That road isn't always an easy one for inner-city kids in urban public schools to achieve, but the Clubhouse -- a stunningly innovative concept with high potential for national replication -- has been making it happen since 1993.

RUBY

It started at Boston's outstanding Computer Museum with a temporary exhibit featuring, of all things, Lego blocks. This was no mere toy, however. Youngsters were able to create Lego constructions that incorporated computer-controlled devices, and programmed them to respond to computer-controlled commands to move, stop, back up and even dance." When the one-week exhibit ended, Breslow recalled, "They were devastated."

It didn't take long for Natalie Rusk, then the Computer Museum's Director of Education, to conclude that it would be a wonderful thing for the museum to provide an ongoing outlet for that creativity. And it didn't take much longer than that for her to get together with Mitchel Resnick, an expert on childhood learning at the MIT Media Lab. Together, they quickly hatched the idea that became the Computer Clubhouse.

It opened its doors in 1993, in space owned by the museum, and it hasn't changed much from its original concept and form: Youngsters are welcome to come in, hang out, and use the computers, supported by adult mentors who guide their work and inspire them with ideas.

There's not much structure, no classroom-type environment, and no games or other software that does the thinking for the user; rather, the Clubhouse's 15 computers are loaded with production software from Visual Basic to C++, programs that sophisticated programmers -- and kids, too -- can use to create their own games and bring their own dreams to light. Working with volunteer role models and mentors from the community, Computer Clubhouse participants learn to use the computer as a high-powered tool, and by doing so they learn far more than they'd ever get out of a computer classroom. "The kids bring their own interests," Breslow said, "and they use the computer as a tool for self-expression." Some express themselves in graphic arts, some in music; some in creative computer programming.

The Clubhouse is open after school, all day Saturday, and summer weekdays, and anyone from 10 to 18 who wants to come in is welcome; but as a practical matter, it fulfills its founders' dream, serving as a way to level the playing field for urban youngsters from low-income families, youngsters who probably don't have a computer at home and whose opportunities for serious computer education in city public schools are dramatically constrained in contrast with their peers at suburban and private schools. Some of these youngsters may not do so well on traditional report cards; but they bring an excitement and a love for computers to the Clubhouse that makes them bloom when they get their hands on a keyboard and the monitor screen lights up with their own creations.

Another youngster, Francisco Santiago, became so competent with computer graphics that he entertains himself -- and learns -- by superimposing his own face over those of the actors in digitized film clips from popular movies -- one favorite has him chatting with Jabba the Hutt in "Star Wars." It started as fun, but his skills have paid him a serious reward: A job and a college scholarship.

A two-year-old Clubhouse program, "C2C" ("Clubhouse to College, Clubhouse to Career"), seeks to maximize that kind of growth by giving participants a bit more structured mentoring through weekly workshops, motivational speakers and counseling aimed at turning their new-found computer skills into serious job-hunting and scholarship-seeking. It's working, too; Ruby and Steve both have summer internships leading to college, and they're far from alone. More than 1,000 youngsters have come through the doors of the Clubhouse in five short years, and on a busy day you'll find 40 or 50 youngsters taking turns on the computers.

And now, with support from corporations, foundations and individuals, the Computer Clubhouse is replicating itself. Using a licensing model with relatively nominal fees, they first set up a similar program in an inner-city Boston community center, to test whether it would work outside the environment of a computer museum. It worked just fine, and now there are four Computer Clubhouses in Boston, one in New York City, one in Columbus, Ohio and one in Stuttgart, Germany, all literally networked (via the Internet) with each other and the Computer Museum. It's a relatively inexpensive model -- setup costs are estimated at $100,000 for computers and software, but this can usually be reduced or eliminated through donations; and $70,000 a year for operations, primarily the salary of a full-time manager, part-time assistant, and fees such as Internet connections.

Last year, the Clubhouse won the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation, selected from more than 200 competitors for making a difference in the lives of those they serve ... and for having a replicable model. It's an outstanding concept, and it's not unreasonable to think that every city of any size could support one or more.

All the feature stories on @GRASS-ROOTS.ORG's pages are reported and written by Robin Garr, a prize-winning journalist who has visited more than 500 innovative grassroots programs in all 50 states since 1990.

Browse his book, Reinvesting In America, at Amazon.com.

Send him E-mail.

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