Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Port Saint Lucie. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Garfield Bowen helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Port St Lucie, Florida.
Is your business serving the residents of Port Saint Lucie? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpPSL.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
EP #188: Igniting Imaginations: Lynn Mancini's Club SciKidz Revolutionizing Science and Technology Learning for the Young Minds
What makes Lynn Mancini with Club SciKidz a good neighbor?
When Lynn Mancini speaks about Club SciKidz, you can almost hear the clink of test tubes and the whirl of robotics in the background. This episode features a conversation with Lynn, the co-founder of an innovative educational program that's shifting the science and technology learning landscape for kids. Lynn's deep passion for enriching young minds is evident as she unfolds the story behind the creation of Club SciKidz and its mission to make learning a dynamic and joyful journey.
As a teacher and entrepreneur, Lynn brings a personal touch to our discussion, reflecting on life's hardships and the power of education to transform lives. She and her husband's commitment to community engagement and fostering inclusive environments for both girls and boys in science is truly heartwarming. Join us as we explore the playful yet profound world of Club SciKidz, where dinosaurs roam beside young filmmakers and astronauts-in-training, and where Lynn's story reminds us all that learning is not just about acquiring knowledge—it's about inspiring the next generation to dream big.
To learn more about Club SciKidz go to:
https://treasurecoast.clubscikidz.com/
Club SciKidz
772-240-6678
This is the Good Neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, garfield Bowen.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor podcast. Are you in need of an educational program for your kids? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your neighbor Lynn Mencini, with Club Psy Kids. Lynn, how are you doing today? Good, how are you? I am well, tell us all about you and your business.
Speaker 3:Well, our business is called Club Psy Kids and we offer a variety of science and technology enrichment classes for kids ages 4 to 14. Our summer camp offers kids a chance to explore their interests and integrate it with science. For example, we have classes for kids who love filmmaking, minecraft, dolls, space and dinosaurs. If kids are interested in becoming a veterinarian or a doctor, we have classes where they can explore those options as well.
Speaker 2:So Lynn tell me how did you get into this business? I'm disfascinated.
Speaker 3:Well, actually, both my husband and I had talked about wanting to start a business prior to our teaching career. I had looked at several options throughout the year and it was always no, no, no and just wasn't right. And then I wound up last year connecting with a business franchise broker and she introduced us to our current company Club, psy Kids, and we fell in love with all of the cool classes that were actually available. We've been in education for the past 20 years and this seemed like it would be a dream for us, and beyond that, our youngest daughter has been interested in science and we thought that by doing this, it would give her a chance to learn about science, technology as well as business.
Speaker 2:Now we love our teachers. I mean, what will we be without educators? You know what I mean. Everybody, all successful people out there, could look back at one teacher that really touched their lives and really made a difference. So, in terms of trying to develop this program, what are some of the myths and misconceptions of that whole educational engagement here that you're doing with the programs?
Speaker 3:I think one of the biggest issues is that maybe science isn't just for boys. These classes are geared for both boys and girls, and also, you know, learning can be fun. Kids wind up getting hands on engaging education. They'll be able to complete 20 experiments a week, plus the variety of science demonstrations on a weekly basis. So that's basically one of the misconceptions we wanted to clear up Science is for everyone.
Speaker 2:Well, I know. For me, I remember having these science fairs and I had to make the volcano.
Speaker 3:I remember those days. It was a little painful, and then this is going to be painful at all. Lots and lots of fun for the kids.
Speaker 2:So, lynn, when you and your husband are not busy with your business, what do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3:So both my husband and I are still teachers at this point, so a lot of our free time will be attending like festivals and other activities within the community so we can get our name out there. However, when we are not doing those things, we like to read, hang out with family and friends, and then we also have two lab mix dogs. They're about three years old.
Speaker 2:I think I saw a cat behind you too right, you got a cat.
Speaker 3:Nope, it's a dog.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a cat dog. Oh come on, I apologize. I saw something crawling behind you.
Speaker 3:Yes, that's my scaredy dog.
Speaker 2:Okay, all right, let's change gears a little bit. Life often does as curve balls. Let's talk about one hardship, one life challenge, something that you went through and you can look back today until you're better and stronger because of it. What comes to mind?
Speaker 3:I'm not sure that it's necessarily better and stronger, but it did make me more independent and have a realization of what's important in life. So one of the struggles I've had to overcome is actually loss. I lost my mom when I was 12. I lost my dad in 2016 and my in-laws when I was in 2019. So I've learned that life is short and, as such, you just have to find your passion, take calculated risks and make sure that you're working towards your future happiness while still enjoying the now. So that's really one of the major things that I've learned from dealing with all the loss.
Speaker 2:Yeah, losing family members is really tough and it's not something I think you ever get over. I think as we go through life, we think about what would this person say, what would this person feel, and respond. So it-.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:But that's really how we grow. Life is something that's inevitable. We're gonna lose people and sometimes we're not gonna be here.
Speaker 3:Right, we just have to struggle through.
Speaker 2:Dealing through it. There's no right or wrong way to deal with it, and we just have to realize that each one of them contributed something to our life that makes us a better person. Yeah absolutely. I'm gonna put you on the spot a little bit, lynn, is that okay? Yeah, I'm gonna make you a little uncomfortable.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:I want you to summarize it down to one thing, one thing that you wanna listen to remember about club Psy Kids.
Speaker 3:Well, the one thing we'd like listeners to know is that we are looking to create an amazing educational experience for your child and children and that hopefully, if things go well, we'll have a lot more locations for our parents to send their kids to, and if they just keep checking back throughout the time periods, we will be adding more locations. And then the other thing is if your older child is interested in science and wants to get volunteer hours, they are welcome to come and help out and then, hopefully, once they are 18, they can apply to become a camp counselor with us. So really, we've been part of the St Lucie County community since 2005 and, as a small family business, we're looking to create a community of where kids can go and learn.
Speaker 2:You know, when it comes to kids and our kids getting some of these high-paid jobs, they always talk about STEM.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, STEM, STEM, STEM.
Speaker 2:which starts with science. So I know a lot of people now looking at their kids or grandkids and saying what can we do to give them an extra non-job on the competition? And you know so they probably have one word on their lips right now, and that's how, how can they get more information?
Speaker 3:Okay, so what they can do is go to our website, which is httpsslashslashtreasurecoastclubcykidscom. They can email me at linclubcykidscom and kids is K-I-D-Z. Or they can call me at 772-240-6678 if they have any questions.
Speaker 2:Well, Lynn, we really appreciate having you on the show. We wish you and your business the very best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much. It was a nice meeting you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast Port St Lucie. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpportstluciecom. That's gnpportstluciecom, or call 772-362-3840.