Students participate in The Tech Challenge in Nakuru, Kenya (Photo Courtesy: The Tech Interactive)

San Jose’s Tech Interactive has been honored with the Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award from the Association of Science and Technology Centers, recognizing the Silicon Valley institution’s groundbreaking work scaling STEM education globally. The award highlights how local innovation continues to drive worldwide impact.

Silicon Valley’s reputation for global influence just got another boost. The Tech Interactive in San José earned the prestigious 2025 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award from the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), cementing the organization’s role as a leader in international STEM education.

The award, presented during the ASTC Annual Conference in San Francisco in September, recognizes The Tech Interactive’s Design Challenge Learning Teacher Trainer Program, which has transformed STEM education delivery across Kenya and beyond.

Silicon Valley’s Global Reach

The recognition underscores how Silicon Valley institutions continue to export innovation worldwide. The Tech Interactive’s program has trained nearly 20,000 teachers and reached over 568,000 students in Kenya alone, proving that the region’s expertise in scalable solutions extends far beyond the technology sector.

“This award recognizes The Tech’s success in rapidly scaling access to hands-on, design-based STEM education in partnership with educators and communities across Kenya,” ASTC officials noted in their announcement.

The program launched in 2023 with 750 students and has grown exponentially, demonstrating the kind of rapid scaling that defines Silicon Valley innovation. By 2025, the program expanded to multiple counties and engaged nearly 5,000 students from over 1,000 schools.

For San Jose, The Tech Interactive’s recognition represents another example of how local institutions drive international change. The museum has leveraged its decades of experience with hands-on STEM education to address global challenges, creating sustainable programs that continue growing long after initial implementation.

“Design Challenge Learning has been central to The Tech Interactive’s work for decades, and it has transformed how students approach learning in Silicon Valley,” said Katrina Stevens, President & CEO of The Tech Interactive. “To see it now empowering educators and inspiring students across Kenya is extraordinary.”

ASTC’s Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Awards celebrate excellence in advancing informal science learning and community engagement. This year’s winners span institutions working on everything from disaster recovery to Indigenous knowledge preservation, placing The Tech Interactive among the nation’s most innovative science education organizations.

Shital Patel, The Tech Challenge Kenya Director, Katrina Stevens, President & CEO of The Tech, and Sherry Burch, Director of Educational Resources at The Tech, receiving the award from the president of ASTC. (Photo Courtesy: The Tech Interactive)

The Silicon Valley Model

The award validates Silicon Valley’s approach to solving global problems through scalable, sustainable solutions. Rather than simply exporting technology, The Tech Interactive focused on building local capacity through teacher training and locally-relevant programming.

This recognition adds to San Jose’s growing reputation as a hub for both technological and educational innovation, demonstrating how Silicon Valley expertise can address challenges far beyond the tech industry.

Read more about The Tech Interactive’s Kenya program and its global impact in our upcoming Diwali Special print edition.