Transforming Learning Into A Science

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Shaun and Gary Tuch launched an after-school enrichment program offering karate, art and science classes seven years ago. But one of the science classes was so popular that they turned it into a Beverly Hills business called Professor Egghead Science Academy that’s now in more than 30 schools across Los Angeles, from Santa Monica to Van Nuys.

The weekly program, which costs students $15 a session, is housed in classrooms by arrangement with the schools and is taught by 24 employees. The elementary school kids do experiments and then the teachers explain the science behind it.

As the Tuchs developed the program, they noticed that they were having more success if the science classes were fun – no textbooks, no homework. For example, kids got to play with a slimy substance made from glue then learned about the way molecules work to produce that texture.

The next step in the company’s growth will be to expand nationally, the brothers said. They’re attempting to do so with a franchise concept.

“By franchising, we offer kids across America the same quality education experience as they get here,” Gary Tuch said. “We are currently working with franchise prospects in Northern and Southern California as well as Nevada, Texas and Arkansas.”

Rick Wetzel, who has two successful franchises in Wetzel’s Pretzels and Blaze Pizza, said he thought Professor Egghead has potential, citing L.A.’s Mathnasium Learning Centers, another education franchise.

“If you look at after-school education programs, it is a great field for that. I think in this field it is very doable and it is a great market,” he said.

However, he continued, the brothers will still face the challenge of every franchise owner, “ensuring executional consistency across all locations.”

The Tuch brothers designed the first class themselves, but they now employ in-house curriculum developers and add new classes every season.

The Tuchs moved from South Africa as children and describe themselves as jocks-turned scientists. They thought chemistry and science were cool and fun when they were young, but they were bored by the classes they took in school.

“We change the way kids think about the world around them and open them to the world of possibilities,” said Shaun Tuch. “Our program has the opportunity to positively impact the next generation of leaders.”

– Anna Nikonova

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