Learn entrepreneurship by making and selling real products online!

2025 SACTOWN YOUTH NIGHTS THEME: “MAKE IT YOURS: BUILD, CREATE, BELONG”

This theme invites youth to take ownership of their creativity, ideas, learning and connections, making every drop-in night a unique and empowering experience. At its core, "Make It Yours" emphasizes self-expression, skill-building, and community, encouraging participants to design, build, and belong in ways that feel meaningful to them. We will host 3 events per quarter in 2025 with the following activities:

ACTIVITY 1: MAKER & ARTS SPACE WITH YOUTH ONLINE STORE

Participants will create an online store selling products they design and make. Through this process they will learn entrepreneurship, digital design and marketing, financial literacy and various technical skills. It will also be an opportunity for self-expression and connection to culture through art and writing. The youth will collectively decide on what specific project-types we do during each event and then during that week they can create a group product or do individual products. Individuals can, of course, just participate in the project and keep the item they make and not participate in the online store if they prefer. Here is a sample project list:

·       Handmade soap bars

·       Digital Art prints

·       Handmade scented candles

·       Tote bags

·       Graphic Tees

·       Macrame plant holders

·       Tie-dyed T-shirts

·       Mosaic picture frames (tile & grout)

·       3D printing objects

·       Greeting Cards

·       Metal Art

We will use print-on-demand options to allow products to be sold more widely without minimum production costs whenever possible, but we will also sell one-time original products. We will be using Squarespace for ecommerce site design, platforms such as Etsy, Canva for graphic design, ChatGPT Generative AI as an assistance tool, video/photo editing software and CAD software.

Students will be responsible for marketing this online store through various means of content creation such as writing product descriptions, social media graphic design, blog posts, video creation & editing, photography, and podcasting. They will learn about concepts like SEO, keywords, and track metrics over time to see what works and what doesn’t.

Students will collectively decide what the proceeds from this store will be used for, whether donating to a worthy cause, field trip, etc.

ACTIVITY 2: STEM PROJECTS SPACE

Participants will work on hands-on STEM projects. We will cycle through the following projects which have been very popular with participants in our past programs:

"AquaEcoPreneurs: Hydropower Innovation for Climate Action"

PROJECT: Participants will construct a hydroelectric power station to generate electricity and light an LED

TOPICS: What is hydropower, how does it work and why is it important as a renewable energy source? What is the status of hydropower in our region?

VoltVoyagers: Entrepreneurship & Electrification

PROJECT (1): Participants will build their own electric robots, learning how to build a simple circuit and the principles of energy conversion.

PROJECT (2): Participants will figure out the power consumption of various appliances using online research, appliance manuals, and energy consumption calculators; they will develop plans to reduce and better distribute energy usage within various home scenarios.

TOPICS: Participants will learn about the importance of electrification in reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. They will learn about (1) Transportation Electrification; (2) Vehicle to Grid Technology; (3) Education & Demand Flexibility: Smart Thermostats, Energy Efficient Appliances, Energy Efficiency & Building Electrification (4) Distributed Energy Resources.

TurbineTitans: The Wind Energy Solution

PROJECT: Participants will build a realistic wind turbine complete with an electric generator and adjustable rotor blades. They will conduct experiments to optimize the turbine’s performance by adjusting the angle of the blades and discover how to use the wind turbine to light up an LED and charge a rechargeable battery. After the wind charges the battery, participants will turn their generator into the motor of an electric car to demonstrate a tangible application for the stored electricity.

TOPICS: What is wind power, how does it work and why is it important as a renewable energy source? What is the status of wind power in our region?

SolarSpark

PROJECT: Participants will be building their own solar cars.

TOPICS: What is solar power, how does it work and why is it important as a renewable energy source? What is the status of solar power in our region?

GreenGrit: Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Biomass

PROJECT: Participants will be using different fruits and vegetables to power an LED, clock and fan

TOPICS: Participants will be learning about biomass, the energy stored in plants and other organic materials like agricultural waste, forestry waste, food waste and wastewater. They will learn how it can be converted to renewable natural gas and used to decarbonize natural gas power plants. They will learn that dairy digesters are one way to use biomass to produce renewable energy and that they reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Wiring an Electrical Outlet

Participants will learn about basic home wiring through a hands-on project. They will practice cutting and stripping wires, securely attaching wires to an outlet, and installing the outlet into an electrical box. Additionally, they will explore how the outlet connects to the house breaker box, gaining an understanding of the principles of electrical circuits, safety protocols, and the importance of grounding. This project emphasizes practical skills and safety awareness for real-world applications.

Build an App using AI

Learn to design and create your own app using AI tools—no coding needed! This hands-on activity will guide you from idea to prototype, building tech and problem-solving skills along the way.

ACTIVITY 3: GAMES SPACE

Board Games: We will provide both solo and group board games to provide opportunities for social engagement and skill development such as the following:

- Financial Frenzy: Teaches financial literacy in a fun, competitive format.
- Sacramento Career Path Board Game: Introduces local career opportunities.
- Coderbunnyz, Codermars, Codermindz: Coding & AI board games

- Large Jenga, Trivia, Pictionary and other group games to build camaraderie and teamwork.

ACTIVITY 4: ENTERTAINMENT SPACE

Entertainment will be a dynamic element of each drop-in night, fostering creativity, relaxation, and community. Activities include:

- Music and Spoken Word: Open mic sessions for music performances, karaoke, poetry, and spoken word, offering a platform for youth to express themselves and connect with others.

-Digital Jukebox: We will set up a collaborative playlist for youth to add songs

-Music Trivia: we will have music trivia challenges where participants guess the song for prizes

-Cultural or Genre Hours: we will let youth vote on a theme or genre for the next hour (i.e ‘80s hits, K-pop, country, hip hop, etc).

-Guided Meditations: we will have guided meditations available for participants to choose from as well.

ACTIVITY 6: GUEST SPEAKERS

Each event will feature guest speakers from:

(1)    Resources: local organizations who can share their services and provide youth with direct contact information for follow-up. Topics may include:

• Job training programs.

• Scholarship and college application tips.

• Mental health awareness.

(2)    Career Exploration: we will have guest speakers from different professions who can talk about what they do, their journey into their profession and answer youth questions.