Junior Center of Art and Science
Create and explore with us after school! Our classes are engaging hands-on fun for young artists, makers, and inventors aged 6-16. Classes are small, student-centered experiences where youth can build skills, experiment with a variety of media, and connect with their creative selves.
All classes take place at 558 Bellevue Ave. Oakland, CA.
Registration opens on Monday, 2/24 at 2:00 PM
Registration closes on Wednesday, 4/2 at 4:00 PM
Spend Spring Break with us! Our Spring Break Camp 2025 is packed with hands-on activities that celebrate the season. Campers will explore nature, environmental science, digital illustration, and 3D design through two unique programs designed to spark creativity, curiosity, and a deep appreciation for the natural world!
Whether your child is an aspiring artist, inventor, or environmentalist, they’ll have a blast learning through interactive projects that encourage exploration and sustainable innovation.
Monday – Friday March 31 – April 4 9am – 3pm
$450 – $625 Sliding scale
Scholarships available! See below
Registration opens Monday, Feb 24 at 2pm
For ages 6-12. Campers will be split off into two age groups. Read the descriptions below to learn about each group’s focus.
What do a pizza, a bike wheel, and a bubble have in common? They’re circles! Why are circles special? In this fun-filled spring camp week, we will gather in our own circle to get curious about this form in art and nature around the world! We will make a variety of art and crafts, using mediums such as printmaking, painting and sculpture to create and explore color wheels, collages, mandalas, dream catchers, and more!
Thinking as inventors, artists and environmentalists, students will explore the beautiful ecosystem that is Lake Merritt, with the goal of understanding how we can better the world around us. This hands-on class challenges students to design and create innovative solutions for environmental challenges. Students will learn to combine engineering principles, technology, sustainable materials, and creative problem-solving to develop eco-centric inventions – all while letting their imaginations run wild! In our explorations, we will use ProCreate on ipads, 3d printers and Makey Makeys all while exploring principles of design, automation, and adaptability!
All JCAS classes are made available to families on a sliding scale. Families choose the amount they are able to pay, considering the top end of our scale is how much it costs us to run the class. We encourage families to help support our efforts to make programs available to those in need.
If the sliding scale prices are still out of your family’s budget, we do offer scholarships. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Please give us 7 business days to process applications. All scholarship requests must be made before March 25th.
Don’t worry about classes filling up, we account for this and ensure every camp is available for scholarship students.
ACTIVE now offers self-cancelations! If you need to cancel your registration for any reason, log in to your ACTIVE account, locate the registration you wish to cancel, and select ‘cancel’.
Our Refund Policy is as follows:
All purchases include a 10% non-refundable deposit to cover administrative costs.
From 2/24 – 3/12, you will receive a 90% refund.
From 3/13 – 3/26, you will receive a 40% refund.
From 3/27 on, we are not able to offer any refunds.
Please note:
JCAS enrollment is non-transferable. That said, we do understand that sometimes your family schedule changes! We offer a one-time enrollment transfer for your child to another week of class that has spaces available free of charge.
Unfortunately, because spots are limited, no credit is given for partial attendance. No portion of the tuition will be refunded if the child is absent, withdrawn, or otherwise fails to complete the activity.
Join us for a presentation of PROJECT UTER, a huge collaborative drawing on the struggle for reproductive justice by Tonina Matamalas and Carles Garcia O’Dowd, a sister project of the Beehive Design Collective.
The gigantic portable mural will be on display from Feb 19 – Feb 22 11 – 5pm, culminating in a presentation on Saturday, Feb 22 from 4-6pm, before it heads off to another stop. You don’t want to miss this opportunity!!
From Carles:
This project took almost two years to make, it maps out the complexities and forces that operate when it comes to deciding over our own bodies. It started amidst huge protests in Spain for the right to access safe abortions. We interviewed people about the issue and slowly crafted a mind map that was then translated to drawings. Each scene represents a “small” picture, and interconnects with every other scene to give us the “big picture “. We have been giving oral storytelling presentations with it around the world ever since. This project was a huge learning experience and one I’m deeply proud of.
Celebrate spring with ecologically grown, freshly harvested, Oakland-grown botanicals! In this workshop, you’ll explore the unique textures, scents, and forms of flowers, herbs, and seed pods grown by our host, Sigrid Hubbell, just two miles from JCAS. Drop-in to design a micro bouquet to take home and tend. All botanicals and small glass vases provided. No experience necessary and children are welcome!
This community workshop is part of our Sprout and Bloom gallery exhibit. Learn more about Sprout and Bloom.
Be sure to also check out Micro Bouquets with Sigrid Hubbell on April 19th!
Lana Williams is an author, artist, and the owner of The Tender Gardener, a plant shop and design company that opened in 2020 in Oakland, California. Her book, The Container Garden Recipe Book, published in 2024 by Artisan Books is an in depth guide to ornamental container gardening. She leads local workshops on plant care basics, repotting, plant design principles, wreath making, and flower arranging. When she is not tending to her garden or greenhouse, you can find her in her studio painting and making ceramics.
Saturdays at the Lab is a unique series of weekend art workshops connecting professional artists with our local community. Designed to foster creativity and collaboration, these hands-on sessions welcome participants of all skill levels to explore new techniques, exchange ideas, and experience the transformative power of art.
See our other Saturdays at the Lab workshops
The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.
Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.
Celebrate spring with ecologically grown, freshly harvested, Oakland-grown botanicals! In this workshop, you’ll explore the unique textures, scents, and forms of flowers, herbs, and seed pods grown by our host, Sigrid Hubbell, just two miles from JCAS. Drop-in to design a micro bouquet to take home and tend. All botanicals and small glass vases provided. No experience necessary and children are welcome!
This community workshop is part of our Sprout and Bloom gallery exhibit. Learn more about Sprout and Bloom.
Be sure to also check out Container Gardening 101 with Lana Williams on May 17th!
Awestruck by the endless diversity, adaptations, and resilience of the natural world, Sigrid Hubbell spends the majority of her time in her urban garden cultivating flowers, herbs, food, medicine, and habitat. Growing and preserving the botanicals that comprise her work, she observes the vivid lessons revealed by natural rhythms. She hopes that noticing the contour of a leaf, the color of a petal, or the plumage of an individual seed invokes deep appreciation for the elegant intelligence and healing qualities of plants.
Saturdays at the Lab is a unique series of weekend art workshops connecting professional artists with our local community. Designed to foster creativity and collaboration, these hands-on sessions welcome participants of all skill levels to explore new techniques, exchange ideas, and experience the transformative power of art.
See our other Saturdays at the Lab workshops
The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.
Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.
Experience the revolutionary technique that transformed monoprinting! Gelli printing is an easy, addictive way to create stunning monoprints—no printing press required.You’ll be amazed by the fine-art quality prints you’ll make with affordable materials. We will play with plants, stencils and stamps to create textures, patterns and shapes and even some photo transfers! Gelli prints offer endless possibilities for expression and exploration resulting in unique layered prints. They also require some patience between layers, so while we wait for things to dry, we can sip on our wine.
Your ticket includes all materials and refreshments, so just bring your creativity! This guided art-making experience offers plenty of flexibility, allowing you to explore and create at your own pace.
Yael Levy is a mixed media artist, storyteller, printmaker and art teacher based in Berkeley, CA. She believes the creative process to be its own reward and the act of making an incredible tool for healing and growing.
Saturdays at the Lab is a unique series of weekend art workshops connecting professional artists with our local community. Designed to foster creativity and collaboration, these hands-on sessions welcome participants of all skill levels to explore new techniques, exchange ideas, and experience the transformative power of art.
Every Second Saturday of the month, we unwind with a Sip & Make session, blending artistic exploration with a relaxed, social vibe.
See our other Saturdays at the Lab workshops
The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.
Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.
Escape the slog and step into a world of creativity! Join us for a Sip & Make crafting workshop led by the ethereal Judit Navratil, where you’ll dream up your own miniature world in a pint-sized diorama.
Whether it’s a cozy home, a whimsical forest, or an otherworldly landscape, the possibilities are endless. Drawing inspiration from 3D artists like Joseph Cornell and Mohamad Hafez, we’ll use an eclectic mix of materials—paper, magazines, colored pencils, paint markers, and more—to bring your vision to life.
Your ticket includes all materials and refreshments, so just bring your creativity! This guided art-making experience offers plenty of flexibility, allowing you to explore and create at your own pace.
Artist Judit Navratil has been working with social VR building collaborative virtual reality art spaces, cyberhomes, and digital nests for the Grandchildren. This time, we will explore these concepts in a physical diorama-making workshop. What tiny world would you like to make?
Saturdays at the Lab is a unique series of weekend art workshops connecting professional artists with our local community. Designed to foster creativity and collaboration, these hands-on sessions welcome participants of all skill levels to explore new techniques, exchange ideas, and experience the transformative power of art.
Every Second Saturday of the month, we unwind with a Sip & Make session, blending artistic exploration with a relaxed, social vibe.
See our other Saturdays at the Lab workshops
The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.
Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.
with Luka Vergoz
All Ages • FREE Drop-in
Set It Up: A Workshop in Repurposed Materiality, is an opportunity to meet Luka Vergoz and learn their process. They will demonstrate how to use discarded and recycled materials to create objects, as well as explore scale and landscape. Luka’s installation has places that are lifted up from the floor, providing a range of heights within the landscape for participants to address. Participants will build and create objects with discarded materials such as paper, cardboard, and wood, and then add their creations to the installation.
Learn more about the gallery exhibit here.
with Elissa Callen
Ages 14 & up • $35 – $75 sliding scale
Join us for a morning of painting and experimental printing using paints made from plant materials. The ingredients we will use will focus on 3 edible plant sources, including plant scraps commonly tossed out in kitchen compost. Participants will have the opportunity to examine the use of other edible plant sources in this class, as well. Instead of using plastic-based paints and toxic materials, reconsider natural materials under your nose that have provided color for millennia.
with Zoe Oliver-Grey
Ages 9-13 • $75 – $125 sliding scale
Using iPads and physical art supplies, students will create their own short animated stories! Students will create physical characters using clay, paper, pencils and paints and then upload images of their creations to iPads. Once uploaded into Procreate, students will be able to add digital embellishments, and create an animated short story starring their character! Over the course of the three sessions students will become more proficient with Procreate and be able to animate and design their own stories.
