City of Albuquerque and Explora Celebrate Opening of X Studio, Designed by Teens for Teens
January 5, 2023 - Visitors to Explora have seen the front of the building growing and changing since July 2020. Today, Mayor Tim Keller and the Department of Arts & Culture helped Explora celebrate the opening of X Studio, an 8,000-square-foot building expansion. X Studio is Explora’s new teen center: a place to hang out, experiment, create, and learn. X Studio brings teens and their dreams together with cutting-edge tools, technologies, and mentors—all with a focus on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math).
Studio will provide over 250 different low-cost or free-of-charge programs, ranging from open hours in the Makerspace to social emotional learning meet-ups, to one-on-one mentorship and tailored programs, like “Expression through Digital Media” and “Science through Hip Hop.”
“This is a place that our city needs so that we can keep our teens engaged and create important career pathways for younger generations,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “Explora has been offering special experiences and learning opportunities to folks of all ages for decades now, and we’re happy that there is now a dedicated space for teens to learn and build community.”
Explora’s mission has always prioritized hands-on engagement that puts people's learning in their own hands, and now, X Studio will customize that mission for our society’s next great minds. We know that big challenges lie ahead—from climate change to global pandemics; we also know that the next generation of thinkers and artists will come up with even bigger, braver solutions.
X Studio is defined by the visions and dreams of teens, community members, STEM educators, and STEM employers—all of whom worked together to co-develop and build this new teen center and the STEM in the Burque exhibition that will be featured in the main exhibition gallery. As phase One of Explora’s Cradle through Career STEAM Learning Campus expansion, X Studio will support more than 6,000 students each year, in an effort to close opportunity gaps and connect teens to the tools they need to succeed. The public grand opening will take place later this month.