The Clubhouse represents a learning environment that is not in a formal school setting. For this reason the learners are not referred to as students but as members or participants. Once inside the Clubhouse, participants continually confront choices on what to do, how to do it, and whom to work with. In fact, teachers is somewhat of a misnomer since the mentors are participating engineers, researchers, graduate students and professionals in fields such as art, science, education or technology who share their experience and serve as role models. Design activities provide a context for reflection and discussion, enabling youth to gain a deeper understanding of the ideas underlying hands-on activities 2 .
Members work on projects related to their own interests.
They are given the support and freedom to discover their interests and to pursue and apply their own ideas. Through designing their projects members naturally engage in thinking about important scientific concepts such as mechanical advantage and feedback. Students construct new knowledge as they engage in constructing personally-meaningful products 2 . Students are encouraged to consider alternatives when things go wrong and to use the errors as a means to learn and improve their design Risk-taking is encouraged. Experimentation and exploration are key features of the environment.