SCIENCE + SMILES - 4th Annual Discovery Pop Up

If you’ve ever seen a child light up while building a rocket, creating art, or learning how to calm their mind—you’ve seen our Discovery in action. 

Discovery is Hands On Atlanta’s longest-running education program. It serves nearly 1,000 K–5 students from Title I schools across metro Atlanta, two Saturdays a month from October through April. Each session is packed with engaging activities that focus on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), social-emotional learning, and health and wellness. 

We believe learning should be joyful and hands-on—and Discovery is all about making that happen. 

On April 19, 2025, we wrapped up another fun and meaningful Discovery season with our 4th Annual Discovery Pop Up Celebration—a day full of smiles, energy, and love for our amazing students. From hands-on activities to sweet treats, the celebration was all about honoring the hard work and curiosity of our young learners. The space was buzzing with excitement—families, volunteers, and partners all came together to make it something special. 

Big thanks to our presenting sponsor, Kennesaw State University, for helping us bring this day to life! 

Shoutout to Our Community Partners 

We couldn’t have pulled this off without the amazing local partners who joined us: 

Welgen One

Welgen One shared tips and tools to help families stay healthy and active. 

8 Legged Scales

8 Legged Scales brought out their reptiles and wowed students with an up-close look at some pretty cool creatures. 

Frozen Sweets

Frozen Sweets kept everyone cool and happy with their delicious frozen treats. 

Sweet Magnolia & Parklounge

Sweet Magnolia brought organic juices and sweets, while Parklounge brought meals!

FB4K

Free Bikes 4 Kidz gave away 25 bikes to our Discovery scholars!

It’s these kinds of partnerships that make our work possible—and remind us what community really means. 

Until Next Season… 

Every Discovery Saturday is a reminder of how much potential lives in our students—and how powerful it is when a village shows up to support them. We’re incredibly proud of all they’ve learned and achieved this year. 

The celebration may be over, but the impact of Discovery lasts all year long. We can’t wait to do it all again in October! 

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Support Discovery

Support one of our most popular and impactful programs with a corporate sponsorship or individual donation! Any size contribution will help. From financial to in-kind support, the program thrives off of community involvement.

DISCO Supply Drive

In response to the impact of COVID-19, Disco is an Olympic themed, team-based virtual experience created for students in grades 3-5 to engage in fun and interactive activities while at-home. Our goal is to beat isolation in the virtual education space and provide a safe space for students.

During these sessions, students will have the opportunity to do educational activities, connect with fellow classmates, and create a space of team comradery and creativity. The supplies are essential as they allow our students to complete the weekly activities and broaden their knowledge around important themes such as math, financial literacy, STEAM, history, and other focus areas. Traditionally, this program is known as Discovery when in-person.

How it Works

1. Click here to review the list of items needed

2. Order new items with the quantity and retailer of your choice

3. Upon checkout, have the items shipped to:

Hands On Atlanta

Attn: Tasia Limonius

600 Means Street, Ste. 100 

Atlanta, GA 30318

thank you for supporting our disco partner schools!!

Disco’s Title 1 Partner Schools:  

• Brookview Elementary School

• Clay-Harmony Leland Elementary School

• Harper Archer Elementary School

• The Kindezi School at Old Fourth Ward

• The Kindezi School West

• Parklane Elementary School

• Scott Elementary School

• Usher Collier Elementary

Basic Materials Needed

• 300+ Small Clear bags   

• 300+ Scotch Tape Rolls  

• 300+ Plastic Jars   

• 25 Boxes of Craft Sticks  

• 25 Bags of Pom-Poms for Crafts  

• 10 Large Bags of Googly Eyes for Crafts

• 300+ Boxes of Crayons (24 total)

• 300+ Boxes of Thin Markers (10 total)

• 10 Large boxes of Pencils (150 count)

• 300+ Boxes of Colored Pencils (12 count)   

• 300 Elmer’s Glue Sticks  

• 300 Bottles of Elmer’s Liquid Glue

• 300 Olympic themed metals   

• 300 Composition Books

• 300 Folders    

• 25 Boxes of Straws  

• 25 Boxes of Small Sandwich Bags

• 25 Packs of Construction Paper

• 25 Packs of Scissors (300 total)

• 10 Balls of Yarn  

• 10 Packs of Pipe Cleaners

• 10 Cases of Printer Paper

• Stickers  

A Beginner’s Guide to Volunteering in 2019

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, in 2018, more than 1.2 million metro Atlanta volunteers contributed 105 million hours of service, worth an estimated $2.5 billion. Woah. Additionally, 42% of metro Atlanta residents do favors for their neighbors and more than half of y’all donated $25 or more to charity. Give yourself a high five!

If you're feeling inspired and looking to make right on your new year’s resolutions, we’ve got you covered with our Beginner's Guide to Volunteering. Whether you're a seasoned, volunteer pro, or just getting started, check out these tips and fun ways to do something good in 2019.

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Make Time

Just like anything else in your life, if it’s not on your calendar, it’s probably not happening. You might have blocked time for the gym, to read that book, learn to cook, or to spend more time with your family, but don’t forget about scheduling time to volunteer! Simply adding time to your calendar is a great first step. Once you’ve set time aside, then you can browse our calendar of volunteer opportunities for projects Monday-Saturday.

Short on time? We get it, but don’t sleep on CareerVillage.org, where with just a few minutes of your time, you can answer career and college readiness questions for opportunity youth across metro Atlanta and beyond. Pro tip: This is a great time filler while running/walking on the treadmill.

Finally, you can take giving back with you by downloading Purposity’s free (and super slick) mobile app. Get one weekly notification of a need in our community, read their story and decide if you want to help, all from your phone.

Use Your Skills

Volunteering is more than painting a wall or planting trees (while important and bring a ton of positive impact to the community) and the need for skills-based volunteers is on the rise. Are you a lawyer, accountant, web developer…or have any kind of specific skill? The Atlanta nonprofit community needs your help!

A great first step is to reach out to an organization you’ve volunteered with in the past or would like to volunteer with in 2019 and ask if they could use your help.

[Insert phantom coughing noise here] we have a ton of skills-based volunteer needs here at Hands On Atlanta! For example, we’re looking for handy volunteers who can help write the instructions and do the assembly of beds and bedroom furniture for homeless and low income children.

Looking for something ASAP? To celebrate MLK Day, the United Way is hosting a Day of Innovation and looking for skills based volunteers to think up innovative solutions for some of our communities’ most complex problems.

On January 25-27, our buds at 48in48.org are organizing a 48-hour Super Service event and they’re looking for marketing and tech pros to help build 48 websites for 48 local nonprofits.

Why dip your toes when you can belly smack your way into skills-based volunteering!

Serve With a Friend

Whether out at a movie or on the bike path, having a partner in crime is always more fun. Bringing your bestie, a co-worker, or a significant other with you volunteering is the best. Check out these fun, daily, group friendly opportunities you can sign up for now:

• Books for Africa – Hang indoors and pack boxes of books for children in Africa. Volunteers as young as 12 can serve and they can accommodate groups up to 40!

• Dad’s Garage – Help out Atlanta’s top improv theater by checking ID’s, running the line at the bar, scanning tickets, ushering and more. The best part? You get to see the show for free! This is one of our more popular opportunities and they go quick.

• Trees Atlanta – It will eventually stop raining… and when it does, you should totes help care for plants and projects around town with Trees Atlanta. They offer daily, morning and afternoon shifts, and plenty of fun.

Make New Friends

So, you’re new in town (welcome!) and swiping through your apps to meet someone new has grown old? Give volunteering a try. There’s no better way to meet good people than at a service project. Check out our TeamWorks! program and join our next Kick-Off on January, 26 for a fun and borderline competitive series of volunteer projects.

Our pals at Community Bucket have monthly service projects for young professionals that come stocked with a post event social and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network have bi-monthly volunteer events as well. No need to be a member to join, just more good people, doing good.

Want to try something different? You can create a space for people of diverse backgrounds to connect and come together to solve some of our city’s toughest challenges by hosting a Civic Dinner.    

Make A Difference

Here in Atlanta, 3 out of 4 children considered “economically disadvantaged” are not reading on grade level by the 3rd grade. This is major because 3rd grade is the turning point for students when they start reading to learn and shift from learning to read.

There are lots of ways to help with these literacy challenges, including volunteering with our Discovery program. On Saturdays throughout the school year, volunteers read with, tutor and work with students in various STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities. Learn more about Discovery and the impact volunteers create here.

The Pajama Program has a fun, daily opportunity to read stories with kids at their reading parties. You can read up to 4 books and engage the kids in conversation about the books after.  

Get a jump start on solving the literacy challenges facing Atlanta’s youth by signing up to serve as a Talk With Me Baby @ Work facilitator. You’ll learn how to provide parents and caregivers the tools and strategies to support early brain and language development.

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These are just a few ways you can start 2019 off on the right (service) foot! What other ways are you planning to give back this year? Let us know on Facebook, by commenting on this post.

Discover Your Impact at Discovery

For the last 28 years, volunteers have been working with students at elementary schools teaching health and wellness, STEM concepts, social and emotional learning (SEL), and more through the Hands On Atlanta Discovery program.

To learn more about this impact program, I sat down with Candice White, Discovery Program Manager, to learn more about why Discovery is so important (now in 11 Title 1, public schools covering from Smyrna to East Point, serving nearly 1,400 students - almost 90% of them receiving free and reduced lunch) and how volunteers, like you, can get involved.  

TIM: For starters, 11 schools, 1,400 students… how do you manage to get it all done?

CANDICE: Well, we’ve added 6 new schools this year and honestly, it’s been a whirl wind! I love it! It’s been a lot of fun, and we’ve received a ton of support from the staff at the schools, our awesome AmeriCorps members, and of course the volunteers who come out each week are fantastic. We have some great School Captains (the point person at each Discovery school) and Grade Captains (running the actual sessions with the students, implementing the curriculum) working hands on in the schools.

“No matter where we come from we’re all a part of the greater Atlanta community and we have to support each other. I feel like it really does take a village to raise each and every child and why not be a part of that village?”

TIM: That’s awesome. [High five!] What do the students learn at Discovery?

CANDICE: Our curriculum varies from school to school, crafting each program to meet the unique needs of the students. We touch on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) which are essential life skills and how the students interact with themselves and each other, as well as health and fitness. We don’t have a ton of time with the kids each Saturday (just a couple of hours) so, it may be a quick experiment learning how an airplane flies or a challenging team building project to create something brand new.

We know that across Atlanta literacy is a huge issue, but we try to be really mindful to not make it like sitting in a classroom for the students. Discovery is a fun addon to weekly learning! It’s also a time to build meaningful relationships between the volunteers and the students.

TIM: I like how the students are learning in fun, creative ways, but Discovery offers more than just the curriculum, right?

CANDICE: Correct. We provide a breakfast and take home snack for the students - mostly fruit or breakfast bars. One day, last year I noticed 1 little girl trying to take more than we are supposed to pass out. At first I didn’t realize what was going on but then it was 3 girls and then more and more. They were just hungry. Then I noticed some of the students coming in with torn shoes and clothing. It was a shock for me and it’s a often a little unsettling for some of our first time volunteers to experience some of the poverty levels these students and families are facing. So Discovery schools are part of our wrap around services we provide to help enrich students’ minds and bellies.

TIM: This sounds like a great program for the students, but also like a really meaningful opportunity for volunteers to get involved.

CANDICE: Most volunteers come for the first time to just see what it’s all about (it’s challenging to explain the “secret sauce” it’s like Disney, you just have to experience it) and they end up having a great time, making connections with the students. We encourage volunteers to come back, because the connection is reciprocal and even if it’s just once a month or a few times a year, the students look forward to seeing the familiar, friendly faces of our volunteers.

If you’re looking to mentor and enjoy making an impact on youth, while also learning something new from them, I think Discovery is the way to go. I think it’s important for people to understand the needs and challenges these students face, as well as getting to know someone that’s a little different than you. No matter where we come from we’re all a part of the greater Atlanta community and we have to support each other. I feel like it really does take a village to raise each and every child and why not be a part of that village?

TIM: So, you have 2 daughters, do they attend Discovery?

CANDICE: I have 2 that are ages 10 and 6 with another on the way! They always give me feedback and they love going to Discovery. Once I can get them out of bed, they really do look forward to going. This year projects they do in Discovery are even coming home and we get to continue the learning and experimenting!

TIM: After 28 years of Discovery, what’s next for the program?

CANDICE: Richard and Debbie Goldsmith kicked things off 28 years ago and still serve at Discovery today! The success of the program is largely due to the incredible support and energy of people like them to help keep it going. As we expand into 11 schools this year, we’re also launching at the Centers of Hope, an after school program at C.T. Martin Recreation Center, implementing some of our curriculum with a big focus on literacy. A lot of the students need help with homework and with reading, so that’s what we’ll be supporting. Again, our AmeriCorps team has been great, stepping in and leading this experiment.

TIM: Well, I’m sold on Discovery. How do I get started?

CANDICE: I thought you’d never ask! Volunteers can get started by signing up to serve for Hands On Atlanta Day. For the first time ever, we’re going to have all 11 schools participating in Discovery on the same day. There are plenty of opportunities at most of the schools and we’re hoping for a big turn out.

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Send Candice your baby name suggestions and any questions or ideas you have for Discovery at cwhite@handsonatlanta.org. If you’d like to help support the meals and materials for Discovery, consider making a donation to Hands On Atlanta.