Photo by Snir Katzir
2000
Science is more than a discipline. It is a way of thinking about the world. At its heart, science invites curiosity, careful observation, and the willingness to ask questions that do not yet have clear answers. It encourages young minds to examine how things work, to test ideas, and to imagine new possibilities. For children especially, exposure to scientific thinking can shape not only academic interests but also habits of inquiry and creativity that remain with them throughout their lives. Investing in science education is therefore also an investment in the future, nurturing the curiosity and intellectual confidence that will guide the next generation of thinkers, innovators, and leaders.
It is this understanding that led the Jerusalem Foundation, with support from the Meyerhoff Foundation, to establish the Joseph Meyerhoff Youth Center for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2000. Located on the university’s Givat Ram campus, the center was designed to open the doors of higher learning to younger students and allow them to experience the excitement of scientific exploration firsthand. The building itself reflects this educational mission. Designed by architect Hillel Schocken, the two-story structure was created specifically to support hands-on learning and discovery.
The center includes classrooms, a fully equipped auditorium, a science library, a forty-station computer laboratory, and specialized biology and physics laboratories that allow students to conduct experiments and engage directly with scientific concepts. Located within the Hebrew University’s Youth Science Complex on the Givat Ram campus, the center forms part of a broader educational environment that also includes the Belmonte Science Laboratories Center, the Beit Bretter Youth Hostel, and the nearby Bloomfield Science Museum. Together these institutions create a unique setting where young visitors are surrounded by scientific inquiry in its many forms.
Each year approximately seven hundred schoolchildren from across Jerusalem and beyond participate in programs at the center, ranging in age from second grade through high school. For many students, visiting the university campus offers their first encounter with the world of academia. Through workshops, lectures, laboratory experiments, and interactive programs, participants explore subjects such as medicine, physics, chemistry, law, robotics, and astronomy. These experiences allow students to move beyond textbook learning and engage directly with the ideas and methods that shape modern scholarship.
In addition, afterschool courses, summer camps, enrichment programs, and special educational activities provide sustained opportunities for young participants to deepen their interests and develop new skills. Scholarships ensure that these opportunities remain accessible to students from diverse backgrounds, allowing curiosity and talent rather than circumstance to determine who can participate. By introducing students to advanced subjects at an early age, the center helps cultivate intellectual confidence and inspires many participants to pursue further studies in science and related fields.
The Jerusalem Foundation has played a central role in making this vision possible. In addition to supporting the construction of the facility, the Foundation has continued to contribute to the center’s development through the purchase of equipment and the support of educational activities and programs. These ongoing investments ensure that the center remains a dynamic and evolving environment where young people can encounter the excitement of discovery.
The Joseph Meyerhoff Youth Center for Advanced Studies reflects a simple but powerful idea — science begins with curiosity, and curiosity begins with opportunity. By bringing children into contact with the world of research and discovery, the center nurtures the curiosity and inquiry that lie at the heart of scientific thought. Through the continued support of the Jerusalem Foundation, generations of young learners are given the chance to explore, question, and imagine the possibilities that science can offer.
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