Junior Edison STEA2mPlant

Empowering Rural Youth Through Design Thinking, Entrepreneurship, and STEAM Innovation

Our Vision

To be a leading rural youth incubator, empowering students of all ages to achieve their full potential and drive innovation in Chaffee County and beyond.

Our Mission

The Junior Edison STEA2mPlant (Jr. Edison) is dedicated to elevating every student to their potential through:

• Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Agriculture, and Mathematics (STEA2M) education
• Support hands-on labs, projects, and mentorship opportunities that foster innovation, resilience, and community impact
• Create pathways to job possibilities and entrepreneurship in areas of student interest

Based in Chaffee County, Colorado, Jr. Edison serves as a launchpad for students to discover their passions, develop real-world skills, a

nd connect with mentors and career pathways.

Who We Are

Jr. Edison is a student-driven incubator in Salida. We empower rural youth through entrepreneurship, innovation, STEAM education, and leadership development. Through hands-on programs, design challenges, mentorship, and community partnerships, students move beyond learning about ideas and start putting them into action.

This year, students are working with local businesses, exploring new technologies, building prototypes, and learning directly from the people who are shaping our community.

What We’ve Built This Year

• DASH Design Thinking Incubator: Last winter we launched our first program with a cohort of five students in grades 7–10.  DASH is a multi-week innovation and entrepreneurship program where students identify real community problems, develop solutions, and pitch their ideas. Check out one of the students ideas HERE!
• Innovation in Action: This summer we partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Chaffee County on field trips showcasing local and national innovators. These trips show rural youth what’s happening, and what’s possible, close to home and in the wider world, and spark interest in future careers.
• STEAM Sprint 3D-Printed Concrete Challenge: This fall, nine students spent a month with the Boys & Girls Club and VeroTouch designing 3D-printed concrete structures. VeroTouch printed their designs and the kids put them through natural-disaster simulations. Students then showcased their work to state and local legislators and community stakeholders. Watch test day HERE!

What’s Next

• A Jr. Edison Tech Room: a hub for our programming where local students can access tools, technology, and hands-on learning
• Multi-Week real-world design thinking challenge with the Boys & Girls Club in 2027
• STEAM Sprint Challenges at the Boys & Girls Club in 2027
• A 10-week Design Thinking Challenge with The Crest Academy, a Salida School District charter middle school serving grades 5–8, during their specials period
• A 12-week DASH Design Thinking Incubator at the Boys & Girls Club in 2027
• Innovation in Action summer field trips showcasing local and national innovators. 

Why It Matters

Rural students often lack access to advanced STEAM education, entrepreneurship training, and exposure to career possibilities. Jr. Edison closes that gap. Students learn by doing, work alongside real innovators, and gain the confidence to shape their community’s future.

How You Can Help

Your gift helps us reach our $15,000 goal to grow our 2027 programming and build the Tech Room, so more Chaffee County students can turn ideas into action.

Your Impact

• $50 – Supplies for a Student: Helps provide hands-on materials, prototyping supplies, and tools for student projects.
• $200 – Sponsor a Student Experience: Helps fund a student’s participation in a cohort that provides hands-on innovation experience, including materials and programming.
• $500 – Sponsor an Innovation Sprint or Field Trip: Provides equipment, materials, and supplies for a group of kids to complete a real-world design challenge.
• $1,000 – Sponsor a Team Innovation Challenge: Helps fund a hands-on challenge where students work on a real problem with a local company or community partner.
• $2,500 – Equip the Innovation Lab: Supports technology, tools, fabrication equipment, and other resources students need to turn ideas into prototypes.
• $5,000 – Sponsor a Program Cohort: Helps deliver a multi-session innovation experience to a group of students, including instruction, materials, technology, and partner engagement.
• $10,000+ – Expand Access to Innovation: Helps us bring programming and technology to more students and communities, develop new experiences, and build the infrastructure needed to expand.

Double your impact on Colorado Gives Day: Start a new recurring donation and the Colorado Gives Foundation will match it, up to $100 per donation.

*Junior Edison is currently operating as a program under the Chaffee County Community Foundation while we await our 501(c)(3) determination from the IRS