Back To School Events: School Supplies for Our Community
Back to School Events Community partners come together to ensure our students are prepared for the new school year The start of the new school year can bring about a…
“With the right training, technology, and mentorship, anything is possible.” (from our sponsors Best Buy)
Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center provides a free, safe space for youth to find and follow their passions.
It is a technological hub of activity with cutting edge technology across disciplines. Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center has safely been open throughout the pandemic adhering to the CDC and City of San Antonio requirements. The Teen Tech Center is available to help with distance learning and provides a safe space for students and families to learn.
Fellow students of various ages, mentors, and Family Service team members frequent the Best Buy Teen Tech Center. Attending the Teen Tech Center offers another opportunity to develop relationships.
Over 75% of jobs require some technical skills. Understanding and mastering technology is a requirement of the future. Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center offers the opportunity to learn new skills through innovative learning and exploration.
A different type of learning: students drive which projects they want to work on and what skills they would like to learn at the Best Buy Teen Tech Center. Their commitment to these projects allows them to learn much more in the process.
Overview
The Teen Tech Center is full of the latest technology, and kids are allowed to set their structure by deciding what of the technology interests them.
Teens have the opportunity to build robots and compete as a team, write and record music, create a brand by mastering Adobe Creative Suite, tell a story with state-of-the-art video equipment, and level up their artwork with technological integration.
Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center includes:
- Robotics materials
- Computers
- Recording studio
- Darkroom
- 3D printing
- DJ equipment
- Adobe Creative Suite and graphic design equipment
- Screen printing
- And so much more
The Best Buy Teen Tech Center is more than a technology center – it’s a space for teens to feel empowered and emboldened. The students dictate exploration. There are no failures, only lessons learned and new friends and mentors made every day. Students expand their entrepreneurial skills
The Teen Tech Center offers students the chance to explore. It opens many of their eyes to the potential of technology and the opportunities it provides to learn soft skills.
90% of the students at Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center report an increased dedication to their education and higher levels of goals and expectations as a result of their experiences at the Teen Tech Center.
Robotics Team
It has been two years since Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center started its robotics team.
Last year, they competed at regionals as one of only two afterschool programs!
The robotics team is free to join and meets once a week at the Teen Tech Center. The students are led by amazing mentors and coaches who dedicate their time to teaching the team engineering, physics, welding, programming, and everything else that goes into building a robot!
Are you interested in joining the robotics team? Come by the Teen Tech Center and see the space for yourself!
Mentoring
Guidance and inspiration are always around the corner.
Especially with industry-leading mentors from a variety of San Antonio’s organizations providing insight, wisdom, and knowledge.
Industry experts teach workshops and offer one-on-one mentoring to help students hone in on different skillsets. Mentors help students navigate their passions and expose our youth to opportunities, ideas, and potential careers they may not know existed.
Impact the future of San Antonio’s youth become a mentor today.
Geek Squad Academy
Every year, the Best Buy Teen Tech Center hosts Geek Squad Academy in June/July for youth ages 10 to 18 years old.
The free, two-day camp features workshops designed and hosted by Best Buy’s Geek Squad. Be on the lookout for more information on how to get involved!
Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center is sponsored by Best Buy with the support of the Clubhouse Network. Best Buy’s team comes at least once a month to conduct a workshop with the students and help them learn a new technological skillset.
The Best Buy Teen Tech Center is a member of The Clubhouse Network. The Clubhouse Network is an international community of more than 100 Clubhouses located in 20 countries, providing youth with life-changing opportunities for 25 years.
Are you interested in youth programs? Discover the other youth development programs Family Service offers.
Eligibility/Requirements
The Best Buy Teen Tech Center is free to attend. We ask participants to be between 12 and 18 years old.
Location and Time
Family Service Neighborhood Place
3014 Rivas Street
Monday-Friday 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Testimonials
Making a Difference
FAQS
Find the answers to your questions here
Do I need to sign up to attend the Best Buy Teen Tech Center?
Students do not need to sign up, though we ask you to call ahead at 210-431-7529 to ensure there is space available within the Teen Tech Center. To ensure the safety and well-being of our participants and our team members, we are allowing a limited number of individuals in the Teen Tech Center at one time.
Is the Best Buy Teen Tech Center still open?
Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center has remained open. Staff are taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of our participants. Including cleaning and disinfecting after each use of the equipment, limiting the number of participants allowed in the Center to 10 at one time, providing hand sanitizer and handwashing stations, and adhering to all CDC and City of San Antonio requirements. The recording studio will be closed all summer to help ensure the safety of everyone at the Teen Tech Center.
Are there classes and workshops?
The Teen Tech Center is an open space. Typically, we do not have scheduled classes and workshops.
During the summer, we do have summer sessions scheduled centered on specific topics.
What equipment is available?
There is a range of technology, free to use, at Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center! Including computers with design software, screen printers, 3D printers, cameras, darkroom, DJ equipment, drums, keyboards, and more!
Who can come to the Teen Tech Center?
The Teen Tech Center is a fun, free space for teens 12 to 18 years of age to explore technology.
Where is the Teen Tech Center located?
Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center is located within Family Service Neighborhood Place at 3014 Rivas Street.
Contact
For questions about the Teen Tech Center, contact Hilario Moreno at 210-431-7529 or hmoreno@family-service.org
Interested in mentoring? Get started.
A specific skill set is not required to mentor at Family Service Best Buy Teen Tech Center, only a desire to form a relationship and be there for the students attending. Please complete our form to get started:
Interested in attending? Learn more.
The Teen Tech Center is open enrollment, and anyone aged 12 to 18 years is welcome to join. Please complete our form to learn more.
