Entrepreneurial spirit means you could, you can, you are. Learning through our career exploration labs means you will!
As a high school student, our innovative, hands-on programming is not just for you to learn, but for empowering you to become all that you want to be.
Throughout TPZ’s programs, you’ll build a strong entrepreneurial spirit and in-demand skills such as Continuous Learning, Problem Solving, STEAM Agency, Teamwork, and Communication. You’ll learn design thinking and you’ll implement universal design principles to create low-fidelity prototypes. You’ll explore careers that are driving the economy and can put you on a path toward the successful future that you desire. When you take part in our work-based learning activities, you’ll have the opportunity to experience on-the-job skill-building through internships and relationships with local businesses.
Along your journey at TPZ, you will have the opportunity to explore in-demand careers in Technology, Healthcare, Advanced Manufacturing, and Construction, Infrastructure and Energy. You’ll learn about robotics and AI, graphic design, 3D printing, laser cutting, coding, and more. And throughout your time with us, you will receive support to promote your well-being—from daily stipends and meals, to enrichment experiences and resources for you or your family.
- Career exploration LaunchLabs are offered twice each week, from 4:00-6:30 at the Innovation Center in Jamaica Plain for Boston-area high school students in Grade 10, and beginning Winter 2026 at Lawrence High School (LSH) for 10th graders.
- Courses are generally ten weeks long.
Summer 2026 Programming
Cooking For Humanity - Boston
Cooking For Humanity – Session A
Description: How can culturally responsive, therapeutic cooking empower families to use food as medicine and improve health outcomes in their communities? In this Lab, you’re here to do more than cook; you’re here to heal. You’ll work with local businesses and families to develop culturally responsive recipes, and publish a community cookbook that addresses real health disparities in our neighborhoods.
Project: Create “Cooking for Humanity,” a community cookbook featuring culturally diverse recipes that help fight diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure through food science principles.
Related Industry: Healthcare
Podcasting - Boston
Podcasting – Session B
Description: What does it mean to grow up in 2025? In this Lab, you’ll use the power of podcasting and audio engineering to explore what it’s like to be a young person in today’s world. You’ll choose themes that matter to you, like technology, climate change, identity, or justice, and learn to transform interviews, sound, and storytelling into compelling audio narratives. Along the way, you’ll develop skills in recording, editing, and sound engineering using professional production tools. Working in small production teams, you’ll write, produce, and debut your own podcast episode to amplify youth voices and perspectives on the future.
Project: Produce and present an original podcast episode exploring what it means to be a young person in 2026.
Escape Room Deep Dive - Lawrence
Escape Room Deep Dive – Session A & Session B
Description: How can we design smarter, more intuitive experiences using code and sensors? In this Lab, you’ll design and build interactive themed puzzles that respond to players’ actions using coding, breadboarding, and sensor technology. You will practice the UX design process by testing and iterating on your puzzles. And you’ll explore how digital systems communicate with the physical world as you wire circuits and program inputs and outputs to build your escape room.
Project: Design and run an interactive escape room featuring puzzles powered by coded systems, breadboard wiring, and sensor technology that responds to user input.
Related Industry: Information Technology
Restyle Studio: Sustainable Fashion - Boston
ReStyle Studio: Sustainable Fashion
Description: What if you could give new life to your old textiles and help address climate challenges? In this Lab, you’ll explore the environmental and social impacts of textile waste while blending sustainability with personal style. You’ll learn to sew, upcycle, and use design thinking to transform old textiles into new pieces. Along the way, you’ll develop technical skills in material use, construction, and sustainable design. You’ll debut your final collection in a student-run showcase where you highlight your vision for a more sustainable fashion future.
Project: Present your collection of upcycled garments in a final exhibition that highlights your sustainable fashion vision.
Related Industry: Construction, Infrastructure & Energy
Pathways College Prep Bootcamp - Boston
Pathways: College Prep Bootcamp – Boston
Description: This bootcamps is for rising senior who wants to get a head start on their college applications. The team works closely with students to make sure they enter senior year ready for the college application process. The bootcamp includes visits to three college. Activities include students starting their Common Application, writing a draft of their college essay, and identifying a few colleges on their college list.
Related Industries: All
Converse Product Design Process - Boston
Converse Product Design Process: Session A
Description: Students work in teams to learn the Converse product-design
process behind footwear and apparel! They learn insights to
the field, go on site visits to Converse’s Innovation Lab and
Headquarters, and express their creativity through hands-on
making by customizing sneakers and a t-shirt around a design
challenge.
Related Industry: Advanced Manufacturing
Partner: Converse
BattleBots - Boston
BattleBots: Session A
Description: Students design and build their own custom robotic controlled vehicle using design and engineering techniques that robotics companies like Boston Dynamics use, and enter it in a variety of competitions. They bring creative ideas from cardboard prototype to completed model through rounds of playtesting.
Related Industry: Technology
Partner: Boston Dynamics
Fashion Merchandising - Boston
Fashion Merchandising – Session B
Students explore how design, technology, and manufacturing come together to create the clothes we wear every day. They learn the basics of pattern drafting, sewing, and material selection as they design and prototype their own custom shorts or pants. Students examine how scale, standardization, and supply chains influence how garments are made.
Related Industry: Advanced Manufacturing
Lights & Bytes - Boston
Lights & Bytes – Session B
Description: How can we design lighting that’s smart, beautiful, and sustainable? Students explore how technology and creativity come together to shape the future of illumination. Using computer-aided design (CAD), electronics, and fabrication tools, they design their own energy efficient custom lamp or lighting fixture that reacts to color, brightness, or programmed commands.
Related Industry: Construction, Infrastructure & Energy
Beyond Possible Summer IT Bootcamp - Boston
Beyond Possible Summer IT Bootcamp – Session C
Description: Students step into the world of IT and cybersecurity to explore how devices, networks, and data work together behind the scenes. From decoding how computers communicate to building connected systems with sensors and hardware, they learn the tools that power today’s digital world. Then, they defend their own system against a simulated cyberattack! This session is only for students enrolling in the Beyond Possible dual enrollment program beginning September 2026.
Related Industry: Technology
How to Build a Care Bot - Boston
How to Build a Care Bot – Session C
Description: In this lab, students blend electronics, coding, and Human-Robot Interaction to build soft robots that feel approachable, expressive, and comforting. They design and prototype social robots intended to support emotional well-being in therapeutic or clinical settings. By exploring how movement, light, texture, and behavior communicate care, students create working prototypes that reimagine robotics to meaningfully connect with people.
Related Industries: Technology and Healthcare