Society of Teen Scientists launched in November 2025. The organization is new, but the expertise behind it is not.

Dr. Samsonau has spent over a decade in research education: training 100+ students at NYU, building and directing research labs at one of the top US high schools, and publishing peer-reviewed work on research methodology. Our advisors each bring decades of experience from institutions like Thomas Jefferson High School and Princeton Plasma Physics Lab.

We built SoTS to make this methodology accessible beyond a single school or university program.

Early members get to influence how SoTS develops and participate in a unique organization that aims to achieve something never attempted before.

And if we're honest, this is how science works. You form a hypothesis, evaluate the evidence, and if it has a high chance of success, you go for it. There's never 100% certainty. That's not a bug. That's what makes it exciting.

Real scientific research always requires someone willing to take a path no one has taken before. That's the mindset we cultivate here.

Ready for this mindset? If yes, join us.

We post examples of potential research problems on our Instagram every week: fascinating, unanswered, meaningful, and feasible for high school, middle school, and homeschool students without access to professional research laboratories.

Following @teenscientists gives you a steady stream of research inspiration. Each post is designed to spark curiosity and show what kinds of questions are worth investigating.

Whether you're looking for a science fair topic, exploring what research is about, or just curious about the world — our Instagram is a great place to start.

Real Research means working on authentic questions: unsolved, doable with available resources, and worth solving.

Not exercises with known answers. Not projects designed just to teach a concept. Not questions no one actually cares about.

We push for rigor and curiosity. We help students find questions that fascinate them AND matter beyond the classroom. Students formulate their own questions, design approaches, collect and analyze data, and present findings. The answers are unknown and may not exist. There's no guarantee of success.

The result might confirm a hypothesis, disprove it, or open new questions. That's how science actually works.

This is the same process professional scientists use, now available to middle school, high school, and homeschool students.

Research shows authentic research experience builds:

• Scientific literacy and confidence: understanding how science actually works, not just facts
• Deeper understanding: you remember what you discover, not what you memorize
• Sense of purpose: working on questions that matter
• Well-being: engagement and ownership over your work
• Persistence: learning to push through uncertainty and setbacks
• Problem-solving: no answer key, you figure it out
• Self-direction: knowing where you are, where you're going, and when to pivot

These skills transfer everywhere: college, career, life. They're also the skills AI can't replace. See what skills you'll develop →

And when a hypothesis isn't confirmed? Your progress is still tracked by your Research Profile — capturing questions pursued, skills built, and lessons learned. Real science values rigorous work, not just positive results.