Scifun is a program that provides educational services and basic needs to marginalized and underserved children living in slum areas, including scavenger camps, shanty towns, and under bridges through youth movements. Our activities include bringing exciting experimental science lessons and free reading, writing, and arithmetic lessons to the children there.
At first, I thought about trying to teach science to children, because I often saw children who had dropped out of school in Indonesia and they had nothing to do but help their parents. I first saw children who had dropped out of school when I volunteered for the first time in a slum area during my friend’s community service event. My activity started with my own idea at Panti Agape, Cilincing, North Jakarta. I taught them about volcano experiments and how the reactions occur. After that, I thought that instead of just teaching science, which many organizations already do, I would try to vary the activities by creating experiments and DIY activities while also training the children’s motor skills.
SciFun was born out of concern for children in Jakarta who do not have access to proper education, especially in the field of science. In school, science is often taught only in theory without the opportunity to experiment in real life, even though curiosity is a natural trait that every child possesses. Therefore, SciFun aims to create an alternative learning space through games and simple experiments, where children are encouraged to ask questions, explore, and channel their curiosity. In this way, children’s perspective on “learning” can change, and they can experience the excitement of STEM, dare to dream, and see science as a bridge to a brighter future.
Pada awal mulanya saya berpikir untuk mencoba mengajar sains aja ke anak-anak, karena saya sering sekali melihat anak-anak yang putus sekolah di Indonesia dan mereka itu tidak ada kegiatan selain membantu orangtuanya. Pertama kali melihat anak-anak putus sekolah saat saya mengikuti volunteer pertama kali di daerah kumuh pada acara community servicenya teman saya . Awal mula kegiatan dari ide saya sendiri adalah di Panti Agape, Cilincing, Jakarta Utara. Saya mengajarkan tentang volcano experiment dan bagaimana reaksi itu bisa terjadi. Setelah itu, saya berpikir daripada hanya mengajarkan sains yang sudah banyak organisasi lakukan, saya coba membuat variasi dengan membuat eksperimen dan kegiatan DIY sekaligus melatih motorik anak-anak disana
SciFun lahir dari kepedulian terhadap anak-anak di Jakarta yang belum memiliki kesempatan untuk mengakses pendidikan yang layak, khususnya dalam bidang sains. Di sekolah, sains seringkali hanya diajarkan sebatas teori tanpa kesempatan untuk bereksperimen secara nyata, padahal rasa ingin tahu adalah hal alami yang dimiliki setiap anak. Karena itu, SciFun ingin menciptakan ruang belajar alternatif melalui games dan eksperimen sederhana, di mana anak-anak didorong untuk bertanya, mengeksplorasi, dan menyalurkan rasa ingin tahu mereka. Dengan cara ini, perspektif anak-anak terhadap “belajar” dapat berubah dan mereka dapat merasakan serunya STEM, berani bermimpi, dan melihat ilmu pengetahuan sebagai jembatan menuju masa depan yang lebih cerah.
