Westfield Couple With Passion For Education Opens STEM Enrichment Center For Kids

WESTFIELD, NJ — Iskra Smiljanic, a licensed clinical psychologist, and her husband Boris Iyutin, who holds a Ph.D. in particle physics from MIT, are combining their passions to open Exploratores.

The Westfield couple is hoping to create an encouraging and fun learning environment that fosters a love for science, engineering, and tinkering.

"Our goal is to enrich each child’s educational journey and spark a lifelong passion for exploring and learning," according to Exploratores.

Exploratores at 219 East Broad Street, 2nd Floor, Westfield, will be hosting a grand opening on Saturday, Jan. 25 from 1:15 to 5 p.m.

Smiljanic and Iyutin's two children, ages four and seven, inspired them to open their business. They began by volunteering their time to offer extra-curricular STEM classes at their children's elementary school and many parents liked it. That prompted the couple to expand to open Exploratores for more students and families to get involved.

Iyutin developed the curriculum for students ages 6 and older or grades 3 to 5. However, they are looking to expand to older children as well.

"Eventually, as our kids grow we would probably follow their progress and open up more and more classes geared towards middle school and high school students," said Iyutin.

Exploratores offers a variety of classes and programs for kids to get a chance to explore science, technology, engineering, and math in a fun environment with peers. They also offer camps and an engaging markerspace.

The classes serve as a supplement or an extension to what children are learning in school.

"We are covering advanced topics for this class. So they're still entertaining, but it's something they probably won't learn in school at this level," said Iyutin.

Classes include a concept explanation, an experiment (to put the concept to work), and then a discussion to analyze what went well? What didn't go well? What did they learn from their experience? And what they remembered?

"It truly is meant to be an enrichment and even a little bit challenging," said Smiljanic.

They also practice building skills such as fine motor skills, and experiments.

"They are challenged to make observations and draw conclusions based on their observation, and tie it into and solidify the understanding of the theory behind what they're actually doing. So the theoretical concepts become more understandable for them," said Smiljanic.

Currently, the classes are offered after school but Smiljanic said they are open to expanding their program offerings to include before-school lessons for families who homeschool.

They also welcome the opportunity to partner up with schools for STEM education.

Exploratores holds a special place in Smiljanic and Iyutin's heart as they are both passionate about education.

"It's really about the children and helping them grow," said Smiljanic. " It's really just fostering growth, creating a space where people feel safe, where people can be curious, can experiment, and make observations."

Iyutin comes from the academic side as he both participated in and organized physics Olympiads.

"Now, he is dedicated to creating similar enriching learning opportunities for kids," according to Exploratores.

For more information visit exploratores.com or follow facebook.com or instagram.com/exploratores_westfield.

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