Pensacola Mess Hall seeks continued partnership to run hands-on after-school science at city centers

The Pensacola Mess Hall asked the Parks and Recreation Board on July (date not specified) to let the city continue hosting its weekly, hands-on after-school science program at Woodland and Fricker community centers and at sites run by partner organizations.

The Mess Hall—s executive director, Megan Pratt, said the program runs for third- through fifth-graders in one-hour to 90-minute sessions and aims to "inspire curiosity, experimentation, and creative problem solving through the exploration of math, engineering, science, and stuff." She said the program is funded through an Escambia Children—s Trust (ECT) grant and has been delivered at city centers and partner sites including Global Learning Home and the YMCA-run Vickery site.

Pratt told board members the ECT grant model asks programs to engage students roughly 25 times per year and that Mess Hall instructors aim to see the same children each week to build relationships. "We go weekly. The goal through the ECT grant is to engage kids 25 times through the year," Pratt said. She described unit themes (human biology, cardboard engineering, sound, alien biology, robotics and similar topics) and said staff intentionally include social-emotional learning alongside science content.

Pratt described two persistent operational challenges: student attendance/turnover that prevents some children from meeting the 25-contact goal, and paperwork/data collection required by the funder. She said the grant requires family-provided identifiers (student ID and birthdate) that some families are reluctant to provide because those data can link to school records. "That paperwork has been the challenge," Pratt said. She also said the Mess Hall has funding through ECT to offer hands-on science training to center staff to strengthen the overall after-school ecosystem.

Board members asked about scale and reach: Pratt said sessions typically include about 15 to 20 students per visit, with Woodland having the larger groups and Fricker smaller. She said the current ECT award runs through the end of the school year and the Mess Hall is seeking permission to continue the same arrangement for the coming year while the grant continues.

The board moved and seconded a motion to forward the Mess Hall—s request for continued center access and partnership to the City Council for approval; the board voted in favor. The board did not attach additional conditions at the meeting.

Why it matters: board approval to forward the Mess Hall request advances an outreach program that city staff and a local nonprofit say boosts informal STEM exposure for elementary-age children and provides staff training for partners, while the program remains dependent on an external ECT grant.

The board noted the data-collection and consent hurdles Pratt described and will rely on City Council and grant administrators to ensure the program—s reporting meets funder requirements without inadvertently exposing student records.

Pratt and Mess Hall staff said they will continue to coordinate schedules with the city centers and the YMCA-run Vickery site if the Council approves the arrangement for the coming school year.