Ofanim was founded in 2004 to provide enriching STEM education for students grades 3-9 who live in Israel’s peripheral communities. Ofanim’s children lack access to resources and opportunities to advance in life, especially in education. Ofanim focuses on STEM education, because science and computer literacy are critical to educational opportunities and gainful employment, which are in turn essential for social mobility.  Our innovative approach to social change brings state-of-the-art mobile STEM science labs to children and for many, it is their first exposure to hands-on 21st century science and technology enrichment activities. Over a regular school year, 5,000 children throughout Israel participate in Ofanim’s activities.

Our mission is to help “Ofanim children" develop the necessary skills, abilities and self-esteem to realize their potential in an advanced and technological world. To that end, we have placed STEM education in the front and center of our organization’s activity – educating towards multidisciplinary excellence in Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM is currently regarded, worldwide, as the most effective and innovative learning method for reducing scholastic and social gaps and for optimal preparation for the future employment world.