// Synapse STEM Education · Est. 2016 · Orlando, FL

Why We
Built This

A decade serving Orlando families taught us one thing: great STEM education shouldn't stop at the classroom door. The Synapse Platform is our answer — and America's future demands it.

3.5M
STEM jobs unfilled
by 2030 · Deloitte
1 in 4
K–12 students with
access to CS education
2,500+
Students served
by Synapse since 2016
$280B
CHIPS & Science Act
for U.S. STEM investment

01 · Our Origin

A Decade of Hands-On Evidence

What started as an afterschool center in Orlando became a decade-long research project — thousands of students, thousands of family conversations, and one recurring signal.

“

“How can we continue this level of structured learning at home?”

— Parents, consistently, 2016–2024
  • 2016Synapse Science & Technology Learning Center opens in Orlando — hands-on STEM afterschool for K–9.
  • 2019Digital Learning Kit (DLK) concept born — first prototype hardware kits sent home with students over summer break.
  • 2022Curriculum formalization — three grade-band tiers developed: LittleTechs, DigiKids, and Cadets.
  • 2024AI-DLK platform development begins — combining AI-powered lesson generation with subscription delivery and physical kit tiers.
  • 2025National launch preparation — Synapse Platform designed to scale from Orlando to families and homeschool communities nationwide.

For ten years, Synapse Science & Technology Learning Center has been doing the work in Orlando — teaching kids to build circuits, program microcontrollers, design in 3D, and think like engineers. We've served over 2,500 students across every grade from Kindergarten through 9th.

The honest answer was: they couldn't — not at this level. Consumer apps were too shallow. Generic coding curricula skipped hardware entirely. And nothing combined IoT, microcontrollers, 3D design, and software in a single progressive K–9 pathway.

So we built it. The Synapse Platform is the structured learning continuation that families asked for, rebuilt for national scale.

02 · The National Picture

America Has a STEM Gap.
We Have a Plan.

69%
of K-12 schools lack qualified CS educators.
CSTA · 2023 State of CS Education
3×
STEM occupations are projected to grow 3× faster than all other job categories through 2031.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
51%
of all STEM employment is in computing — yet CS remains optional in most K-9 programs.
Code.org · Advocacy Coalition
16%
of high school graduates demonstrate proficiency across math, science, and computing.
NAEP / ACT National Data

03 · Who This Serves

Built for Every Stakeholder

“We want our child to have every advantage — but we don't always know how to give it to them at home.”

Parents of K–9 students are increasingly aware that STEM fluency is not a future elective — it's present-tense currency. Yet most families lack a structured, progressive pathway to build those skills at home.

  • ✓Structured progression — not a collection of random projects. Each lesson builds on the last.
  • ✓AI-powered personalization — adapts to each student's pace and learning style.
  • ✓Real hardware, real outcomes — physical DLK kits with microcontrollers, sensors, and components.
Synapse students in hands-on STEM learning

The Future Workforce
Starts in 3rd Grade.

The Synapse Platform is how Orlando's most innovative STEM afterschool center goes national — one family, one kit, one mastery milestone at a time.

Explore the Platform →Visit S2TLC Orlando
Sam